Redemption
by NeonZangetsu
Summary: To find a friend, he made a deal. To save his friend, he sold his soul to death. What will happen when he is the one who needs saving? A decision will, must, be made. Will he fight, or will he fall? Bleach crossover, Naruto, harem. Vote!
1. Allegiance

_I...._

_I swore to bring him back. I will bring him back. I've gotten stronger, I've...done unspeakable things, both to myself and my enemies, to get this power. I won't give it up, not ever, no I want it, I need it, its mine, mine mine mine, I_ need _it, I need this power to bring Sasuke back._

_I need it._

_Which is why I-_

_--_

She bolted through the streets, a pink blur of motion, having just heard the news, an elated expression on her face, her now long pink hair streaming out behind her as she dodged around pedestrians and cart vendors, shouting apologies over her shoulder to them as she ran. _'Naruto's back! I can't believe it! It's already been three years, and its been too quiet with him gone..._

A small smile lit her face as she was looking forward to finding him and seeing how much he had changed over the years. She had really missed him, and that was an undeniable fact. After all who could NOT miss all the antics and stunts he was so very well known for? _'I wonder..._

She remembered how quiet the village had been with him gone, and looked forward to seeing him liven things up a bit upon his return. Moments later, after running as fast as she could, Sakura finally arrived at the village gates. And laid eyes on him for the first time in three years. There he was, standing atop the roof of them, gazing out over the village, a small smile on his face as the wind tussled his blond hair. "Ah, good to be home again."

His usual outfit, that hideous jumpsuit, had been radically altered, entirely replaced by a black, sleeveless shihakusho, and there, strapped to his back were a set of three scrolls. His head band could be seen around his right arm, as opposed to his forehead.

Steadying herself, Sakura drew in a deep breath, and called up to him, happy to see him as she waved up to him, raising a hand in greeting, the elated expression on her face again. "Naruto-kun! Down here!" Blinking, he glanced down, a small frown etching his face. She had just used 'kun'. She had NEVER used 'kun' before.

"Sakura?"

She nodded up, at him and took a startled step back as she saw him gather himself for a jump.

"Hey, wait a second! Let me get out of the way first!"

Too late, he now sprang down, landing right in front of her with a soft whoosh, where she had been seconds before. Rising to his feet in one smooth motion, now a good heads length taller than she was, she took in his appearance. Blond hair, longer, rougher looking, resembling that of his father. And she felt no anger, despite the fact that he could have landed on her.

In fact, the Haruno gasped as she watched him rise to his feet, for he was now several inches taller than she. Sakura found herself at a loss for words, and berated herself mentally for this. _'Stupid! Say something! It's just Naruto! We've been teammates for like, EVER! So why is my heart beating so fast..._

But she still found herself unable to speak, absolutely speechless. Naruto smiled down at her and leaned forward, placing a hand on top of her pink hair, his sapphire blue eyes crinkling in a smile, chuckling at the brief blush that lit her cheeks. "Yo." She could tell from the tone of his voice that he was happy to see her after such a long time, and he seemed to be _heaps _more confident, if he was actually daring to get this close to her. "Been awhile, hasn't it, Sakura."

_'Trying to act cool, huh?'_

She frowned at his comment, and perhaps out of instinct, or maybe bad habit, swung at him. Moments later, she found herself, her arms, pinned from behind, though he hadn't moved an inch. A shadow clone, she realized, as Naruto gave her a small, disaproving frown.

"Nice try." He replied suddenly, coldly, eyes narrowing to dangerous slits. "But I've learned a trick or two."

Sakura blushed, suddenly realizing how close his face was to hers. VEEEERY close, his nose brushing against hers, and he somehow missed her emerald orbs flickering down to his lips. Or DID he?

_'Does he even know what he's doing? He's so close... I could just...He could just..._

It would seem that these past three years had somewhat dampened her 'love' for Sasuke...

But at that moment, Naruto removed his hand from her head, and she let out a small sigh of relief/disappointment. His frown softened as he gave her a quick once over, drawing another fierce blush again. She had certainly grown up, and was ANYTHING but little now."So how have you been Sakura-chan? I like the new look. Did anything interesting happen while I was gone?"

_Beside the fact that you got so handsome?_

Blushing, she shook her head and remembered to mention that everyone had become Chunin while he was away, and Gaara was now the head of his village. "All the genin, myself included, are all Chunin, and Neji's a Jonin now." His face fell. Realizing this, and desperate to save face, she added: Cool huh? I guess you have some catching up to do."

_'In more ways than one.'_

Naruto sighed now, his shoulders slumping sightly. There was something, something in his eyes just then, but whatever emotion it was, it was quickly blotted out by his cheerful grin. "Damn, now I gotta catch up!"

She raised an eyebrow at this new Naruto. "Just like that? You make it sound so easy." He shook his head, a wry grin on his face, as if he held a great secret. "Nope. You'll see what I meant once the Chunin exams come around again!"

She let out a mock sigh at this. "That's not fair." _'He's completely different from before. He actually looks kinda... handsome... _Now _she _gave him a quick once over and he smiled when he caught her doing so, his voice laced with amusement, as he pretended to flex, showing off his tan muscular arms, his jacket tied about his waist, as he was wearing a black muscle shirt instead, due to the heat. "Sakura-chan, are you checking me out?"

Blushing, she decided to change the subject, she smiled and answered with a question of her own, her tone deliberately unsure, as she dug her right heel into the ground. "Naruto, do I look any different to you? More...grown-up?"

Insinctively, she controlled her blush as she said it, making her face turn a pale pink as Naruto gave his response, his voice warm. "Nah, don't worry about it. You haven't changed a bit, have you?" Immediately the warmth faded, replaced by irritation.

She gave him a bright smile, despite the fire in her stomach. "Yeah- Then his ears pricked and he grabbed her arm, spinning her towards him as one _very _excited Konahamaru landed where she had been standing mere moments before.

The exuberated genin grinned as he saw Naruto, practically bursting with joy. "Boss! You're back!" Then his gaze fell on Sakura, who was held tightly in Naruto's arms, her head resting on his chest, his heartbeat sounding in her left ear. His grinned as his tone became that of someone who _thinks _that they know whats going on, when in reality they have no clue whatsoever. "And you landed a girlfriend already?!" He flashed his pearly whites in a wide grin and closed his eyes, giving him a thumbs up as he did so. "NICE! That's just like you boss! You're always getting all the girls! I wish I could do that!"

Sakura turned _beet_red at this, and Naruto gave a sigh smiling as he did so. He gently released Sakura, missing the sad sigh from her, as he turned to face his young friend. "Konahamaru, Sakura-chan and I are just friends, nothing more." He turned to Sakura, a knowing smile on his face, and she saw that _this _time he seemed truly happy for her. "Besides, Sakura-chan said she loves Sasuke. Right Sakura-chan?"

The poor Haruno was taken a back by this, both in a good and bad way. Part of her was glad that he had taken her words to heart, and another was sorry that he had seemingly given up on her, just like Lee had so many years ago after Tenten told him that she loved him. _'He's giving up on me? I actually feel sad about that... I almost don't WANT him to give up on me..._

Making a serious note to tell him otherwise later, she watched as Konohamaru showed off Naruto's original technique, the Sexy Jutsu. As soon as he turned into the smoke covered woman, Jiraiya immediately got a _huge _nosebleed, and Sakura's jaw dropped at the jutsu, a tick mark appearing on her forehead. _'Why you little pervert! You are SO dead!' _She cracked her knuckles mencacingly, ready to beat the stupid genin into a pulp.

Naruto however had a different reaction, one that startled the anger out of her. He sighed and shook his head, a bemused smile on his face as he did so. "Hey, I'm to old to be doing such childish things. And you should know better Konohamaru." Konohamaru's jaw dropped, and he released the jutsu at that, the smoke fading to reveal the dumbstruck genin. "SAY WHAT?!" Sakura smiled at this new display of maturity, and nodded.

"He's right. Such perverted acts disgrace women. You should be ashamed of yourself." The genin hung his head, but Naruto placed a hand on his shoulder, and grinned as he handed the boy a scroll, his tone serious. "Here, try learning _this _jutstu. It's an A-rank jutsu known as the Rasengan, left by the foruth Hokage. It took him _years _to master this, while _I_ mastered it in just a week. Think you can do better than that?"

Sensing a challenge, the new genin jabbed his finger at the Chunin, tone defiant as he flared his nostrils. "Oh yeah?! I'll have it down pat in three days just you wait and see!" But then a sheepish expression formed on his face, as he scratched the back of his head, realizing that he needed instructions on how to 'master' it. "Uh, how do I do it again boss?"

Jiraiya arched an eyebrow at explained the three steps and so on, to the sheepish Genin, who took all of it down on a note book that he had pulled out of nowhere.

_'Wow kid. You really have grown up.' _He then saw Sakura fidgeting out of the corner of his eye, stealing glances at her blond teammate, then looking away before he could notice. The sannin grinned as his apprentice bid her farewell and began to take off to find the rest of his old friends. Turning away from her, and drawing a sad look from the Haruno. _'And it looks like you've becoming quite the ladies man. I guess you have me to thank for that..._

But before he could take more than one step, Sakura grabbed his wrist. Pausing, he turned to face her when she spoke, before he could, now with a stammer much like Hinata's. "Na-Naruto-kun, I'll...I'll go with you! I haven't seen any of them in a while either, and with the two of us, I'm sure we could find them easily!" Naruto blinked at this, as she reluctantly, VERY reluctantly released her grip on his wrist.

"Well, alright then."

Sakura breathed out a sigh of relief at this, willing herself to follow after him. She had just given him a bold faced lie, but she needed an excuse to spend more time with him, to see if he really WAS more mature. She just wanted...to be near him for a little while longer...

Jiriaya snorted as they took off.

"That was the worst lie I've EVER heard. But it looks like he fell for it."

Then, with a perverted giggle, he turned in the opposite direction, to pay Tsunade a little visit...

--

_(Leaf Village streets)_

"So, you trained awhile, huh?" She asked, as they walked down the street. _'Stupid!'_ It was a terrible topic to start off on, and immediately she berated herself for it."Yeah." He replied quietly, matching her stride with relative ease. "Absolutely brutal."

"It must've been terrible." She added lamely. " All that hard work-

"Sakura." He stopped suddenly, forcing her to do the same.

"Huh?"

"You and I, we're only friends, right?"

"O-Of course!" She sputtered defensively, so intent on defending herself, that she missed the hint of sadness lingering, shielding itself behind those matchless blue orbs. "Why would you ask that, Naruto?" But by then, it was far too late. "Good." He replied, an air of finality in his voice as he turned to go, pushing rudely past her. "Now that we've gotten that out of the way, I'll be going now."

--

_(That night)_

There was a distinctive rippling in the night, an almost indistinguishable hum as the air itself was torn open, revealing a dark abyss. The wormhole danced and sparked with un-suppressed energy yet somehow remained unnoticed by those lingering in the streets below.

From the tear, a single figure, clad in an all white hakama emerged. His skin was pale, pallid grey, as if he hadn't seen the light of day in a long, long time. He wore the cracked remains of a broken helmet over his messy black hair. Strapped to his waist was a slim katana, its pale green sheathe the only real source of color on this mysterious figure. Cold, slitted green eyes surveyed the village, before finally locking onto their target, the blond standing on the nearby rooftop, staring straight at him.

"Uzumaki Naruto." The man stared imposingly at the blond walking on the air towards him, his feet finding purchase on the clouds, as if there were some invisible platform beneath him to support his weight. "Aizen-sama is calling. Why have you not answered the summons?"

"I have my reasons," The jinchuuriki replied, but there was no mistaking the bite of his tone as he spoke the latter's name. "Ulquiorra."

"You still harbor hope for this decadent village don't you?" The man replied, and the blond stiffened, turning as he continued to speak. "You still cling to that futile hope that they will accept you for what you are, yet you know, don't you?" His perpetual frown seemed to deepen slightly, if that were possible. "They will _never_ accept you for what you are, for what you have become."

Finishing his sentence, he pulled down the zipper of his collar, revealing a clean cut hole that went the entire way through , to just above his sternum. To Naruto, it was as if someone had taken a hole puncher to the skin, and gauged out the flesh.

"Hollow." He finished with that single word. "That, _this_ is what we are."

"You're wrong." Naruto's scowl pulled up itself up into a thin, horizontal line, which now became a shadow of a smile. "I have friends. _They accept me. _They always have, and they always will, no matter what I may look like, or what I am._"_

"But for how long?" The pale specter countered, never raising his voice never changing his tone, not even blinking, but still the cold, cruel mockery remained. "What will happen when you tell them the truth, when you show them what you are?" When the jinchuuriki made no move to reply, Ulquiorra continued at his slow, steady pace. "You already know the answer. They will shun you, they will treat you like trash, scum, like the lowest dog-

_"Enough."_ Naruto barked suddenly, his eyes becoming red slits, red chakra leaking from his shoulders and taking the shape of the demon cloak he was so infamously known for. "Surely you didn't come here to insult me, and if you did-

"I was sent here to escort you back to Las Noches." Ulquiorra interrupted. "Your time here is up."

"I don't _care_." The blond replied in a bitter tone, turning to go, to get away from this intricate plot in which he had become so inseperably ensnared. "I never joined Aizen. I never cared about your war. So you have no hold on me" Then the hand clamped down on his shoulder, arresting his movement, and slightly tearing the bandaged fabric that lay there.

Naruto's fierce glare did not affect him in the least, as the number ten was exposed.

"Perhaps you would _care_ if I were to tell you that Konoha will be our battleground?" Ulquiorra was smooth in his counter, but now, there it was, just the faintest hint of a smirk pulling at his perpetual scowl. "_You_ were given a rank, _decima espada._ _You_ were given a place in Aizen-sama's army. Now it is time to fufill your promise."

"No." The blond grunted, swatting the vice like grip away. "This isn't my fight."

"Then you leave your village to die." Again he was beaten to the punch by this imposing figure, thos simple words cutting through the chains of reason and resentment. "Tell me, how will your friend return to his home, when it has been wiped off the face of the map?"

"..." He continued to walk away.

"This is your _final_ warning, Uzumaki Naruto." Ulquiorra called to his back. "Join us now, willingly, or-

Naruto didn't hear the rest of his words, for he dissapeared with the swish of a body flicker.

_This is why I can never love Sakura. This is why I can never get close to anyone, no matter how much I care for them. I'm in deep now, and I can't tell them no forever. Sooner or later, everyone will figure it out. I hope its later, because...._

_I am...dead. I...died._

**Next time: Old sins.**


	2. Misery

With a graceful flourish, Naruto landed upon the balcony. Taking a moment to survey his surroundings, he observed the garaganta, still a black speck in the distance.

A sense of dread boiled down his throat. Ulquiorra _never _disobeyed an order from Aizen, but did that mean he would pursue Naruto?

As if to answer his question, the white speck stepped back into the blackness, and with a loud pop, the teeth of the garaganta closed.

Safe for now, the recluse decima allowed himself a deep, heavy sigh of relief. Of course, he should've known. Although Ulquiorra never disobeyed Aizen's orders, he _rarely_ went beyond them. Unless Aizen were to specifically order the espada to chase him down, he'd be safe.

A lingering trace of the other's power, spiritual pressure, could still be felt, lingering in the air, like a foul aftertaste.

Naruto shuddered, but not in fear. Ulquiorra's rank was higher than his, after all, _he_ was at the bottom. Everyone had a higher rank than _him, _and it irked him to no end that Aizen constantly sent espada after him, trying to drag him back to the castle form which this had all begun.

Gathering his wits, the blond hoisted himself up, leapt from the balcony, hitting the street in a dead run. His long, powerful strides quickly propelled him out of the residential area, and eventually into one of the many training grounds.

Here was another anomaly.

The earth was unusually torn, as if a giant creature had chewed up the soil then violently vomitted it back out. Those looked like claw marks in the torn, battere husk of a tree that lay before him, its roots coated in ice. That was odd. Ice was rare in spring, even more so on a stifling evening such as this.

A sharp crack, that of a twig snapping, confirmed his suspicions. Someone, _something_, was still here. Slowly, he approached, taking great care in the way he walked, lest he give away his prescence.

Then:

"Naruto-san?"

"Kami!" The blond yelped, rounding on the voice in a second, a kunai drawn and in hand. Upon recognizing the voice, he lowered the knife, visage dissolving into a smoldering scowl. "I told you! Don't scare me like that!"

"My apologies." The lithe form of a young girl, clad entirely in white, stepped around the intact boulder. Strapped to her back, was a large sword, its long handle partially sheared off so as to better wield it. The face was one he knew all too well, for this was Haku, the shinobi that had died in the land of Waves.

Yet here she stood before him, alive and well. Therein lay a story, but to put it bluntly, and to conserve a great deal of time...

She, having loathed and hated that she had died before Zabuza, became a hollow soon after her death. Aizen got a hold of her soon afterwards, and when Naruto came along, he named her as his fraccion.

It made sense. He needed someone to lean on, she needed a purpose, someone to serve, else her life would have no worthwhile meaning. Two individuals, each striving for an unreachable goal in life.

A win-win situation.

She was strong, terribly, terribly strong. If she so desired, she could easily take the rank of Septima, though, as with all the other rankings, he knew not who held what rank. Perhaps this was Aizen's way of keeping him in check, perhaps it was something else.

But they made an excellent pair these two, often knowing the other's thoughts before they were even spoken, and were nigh unstoppable if they set upon a single unreleased espada.

But that teamwork was as far as their relationship went. Initially, she'd admitted to having feelings for him, but he could not admit such a thing. Aizen was as cunning as he was cruel. If he were to learn that Naruto, his _decima_ had feelings for Haku, then he'd have power over him.

To be controlled by another was not something Naruto could afford. He had to save Sasuke, had to make him see the error of his ways, _had _to bring him back to the village.

So he kept his distance.

If he were to wall himself off from others, then Aizen could not possibly touch him, could not hope to control him, or the Kyuubi that resided within him. That was his true goal. To control a force more powerful than he, a force that Naruto had yet to full tap into, for he did not know how.

As such, Naruto kept himself under a near constant henge, both to hide his appearance, and the reaitsu he was constantly emitting on a subconcious level.

Only pervy sage knew what he really was, having trained him, refining his gifts in secret over the past three years. With a small amount of pride, the blond admitted that it'd take at least three espada _plus _Aizen himself to take down his rather infamous sensei.

"You need to go back." Naruto insisted, touching at the air where another tooth filled maw erupted into existence. "You can't be here."

"But-

"No buts!" He insisted, shoving her towards the portal when she resisted, despite the fact that she dug in her heels. " As you can see, I'm perfectly fine! Now go before someone sees you!"

She became crestfallen at that. Oh yes, she knew his reasons for keeping her at arms length, but that did not make it any less unpleasant, nor did it make her feel better.

The last sight she saw was a miserable expression, as his facade slipped, just for a moment. She looked away as his eyes met hers, just for a moment. She nearly leapt out of the abyss and into his arms, but stayed her body at the last second. A relationship would surely be the death of them both.

But to deny it...

Would kill them both.

--

He saw the look on her face, just before the garaganta closed behind her. She'd seen his slip up, and it'd hurt her, it hurt them both.

His thoughts continued to degenerate as he shuffled home to his apartment.

It hurt him to constantly be this way, to wall himself off from others, to shove them away with no explanation at all.

Haku didn't deserve this, and he certainly didn't deserve her. She was a sweet, sweet, innocent girl, not a single flaw in her soul. She was an angel, and he, he was a fallen soul, one who could never hope for redemption, doomed to die alone.

_Alone._

He was _alone_ in his fight, in his struggle to do the right thing, and yet, and yet he just wanted someone, someone to call his own, someone for himself.

He'd been through this twice now, once, when his first fraccion, Apache wanted to help him with his rebellion against Aizen. He'd been younger then, naive. A tender love had blossomed but it became a disaster to say the least, and now she was under Halibel's constant supervision. And now, now the same had, _would_ happen to Haku. He'd pushed them away, he'd pushed them all away, and now..now...

He bit his lip as the tears started to fall.

The door opened with a terrible creaking sound, and he stumbled inside, trying his best to prepare himself the hate crimes that'd most likely been done done to his apartment while he was away.

He wanted to die, but his promise to Sakura prevented him from doing so. He wanted to have a relationship, but to do so, he'd be collared, controlled, doomed to follow Aizen's orders for the rest of his days.

To have someone.

Was that so much to ask?

With a miserable groan, Naruto sank to his knees, covered his face and wept, not caring that he hit the couch instead of the floor. He knew this would happen, so why, why did it hurt so?

Wait.

Through tear stained eyes, he blinked.

_'I didn't have a couch.'_

Rubbing at his eyes now, he blinked until the tears momentarily subsided. There was a strange scent here, that of lavender, and many, many others. Fumbling around in the dark, he finally found the light switch, and not only was he surprised to find that the power actually _worked_ again, but now, he saw the state of his apartment.

_It was clean._

Gone was the grime that coated the floor, gone was all the dust, dirt and the broken glass from that window he'd long since given up trying to repair. Glancing to the left, he spied a small gift basket. Darting over to it, he snatched it up with trembling hands, undid the wrapping around the card, and read its contents.

"Wishing you well no matter where you are, the rookie eight." It would've been nine, but since he'd been away for the past three years, he understood their sentiments.

A basked full of ramen in a cup, the only gift he never got tired off.

"You guys....Tears sprang to his eyes again, but now, now he laughed, for the first time in a long time. It was genuine his mirth, it told him that everything wasn't as Ulquiorra said it was. There were those who _did _care for him, and as he folded up the card, he promised himself he'd spend time with each and every one of them while he could, before he set out again.

Aizen be damned, he'd do this himself.

If he couldn't find a way, he'd make a path with his own two hands. Backflipping into his new bed, Naruto let out a small sigh.

Maybe life wasn't so bad after all. Naruto had found one sure fire way to get power, and now he had it firmly in his grasp. But there was _one_ other way to become stronger. If it didn't kill him that is.

"Just you wait, Sasuke." He muttered, unlocking the strap that kept the three scrolls bound to his back. As one, they unfurled at his feet, resting at the foot of the bed. "I _will _bring you back."

Crossing his legs, Naruto made two seals, one Tiger, the other Ram, then closed his eyes, slapping both palms upon the parchment. "Now...release!" The text from the scrolls jumped, crawling as if it were alive. Now, it flowed like ink across his arms, making its way to his face, then forming at the back of his neck.

A short scream ripped past his lips as the markings took shape upon his skin, forming a trio of triangles, each intermixed with the other to form a unique shape. It hurt, it hurt so _bad_, but through sheer willpower, he endured the painful jutsu, ignored the throbbing in his neck as the ink slowed its ascent.

Chakra. He was sealing vast reserves of chakra into his arms and legs. That was the purpose of the scrolls, both to store items, and to seal chakra. These scrolls had chakra built up from three years worth of training.

A.K.A huge power boost.

It wasn't exactly what Tsunade's healing jutsu could do, but he'd managed to make a close enough replica. As sleep finally took him, a small chuckle escaped his lips. He couldn't be controlled, but would _control_, instead.

If only...

**Well, the pairings remain up in the air thus far! Next time: The Morning of the Death Gods. Enter the shinigami!**


	3. Alliance

He awoke to the sunlight in his face, and the sound of birds chirping. Blinking once, then twice, Naruto sat up, rubbing at his sleep heavy eyes. Shuffling himself off to the bathroom, he prepared himself for today's training.

Getting the bell from Kakashi had been a cinch, but he hadn't exactly worked well with Sakura. He'd become too used to having Haku there to back him up, without her unique talent's, he refused to work with Sakura. Though he did manage to get a bell on his own, the exercise had been a failure in his mind.

He'd even talked to Kakashi about it.

_"Kakashi-sensei... do you remember what you told me when I was training? You said you believe I'm the only shinobi who can surpass the Fourth Hokage. I know teamwork is important. I also know that this is a very risky path. Even so, I want to take this risk alone. If I can't beat this, I'll never be able to grow up. So please... please... don't take this path away from me._"

Kakashi couldn't know the truth behind those words, but he must've understood them somehow. Kakashi was just like that in a sense, he always seemed to know what you were thinking, before you even said it.

Must be that Sharingan of his.

Slipping on his sandals and shihakusho, Naruto gave himself a quick once over in the mirror. The figure that greeted him was that of a young man, deceptively cheerful and bright, not a care in the world. As if on a second thought, he took the headband and re-tied it around his forehead, then carefully rewrapped the torn bandages around his espada tattoo.

For some strange reason, the number remained, even while under a henge, so he had to keep it hidden. Downing his breakfast, ramen of course, he did a quick warm up stretch, then took off for a morning jog. He passed the Hyuuga manor, slightly dissapointed to find that no one was around, and that seemed to be the case wherever he went. In fact, everyone seemed to be on a mission right now.

Slightly crestfallen, he continued his run, and it wasn't long before he'd arrived at a very familiar scene.

The Forest of Death.

Taking a quick glance around, making certain that no prying eyes were watching, he slipped through the gate, then locked it behind himself. Within moments, he was deep in the forest, where no one could possibly sense him.

"Come out." He glanced around the many trees that surrounded the clearing. "I know you're here."

A bright flash of light answered him.

Naruto scowled darkly at the five figures stepping into view, headed his way. Each wore a shihakusho, except their's were clearly in much better condition than his own, that, and they each wore a white haori over it. Behind them, a sliding door vanished, barring the blinding white light that'd blinded him mere moments ago.

Captains'.

Aizen had been one once, before he'd defected with Gin and Kaname.

If _they, _captains of the thirteen court guard squad's, were here, then that must mean-

"Don't move, _espada."_ The shortest of them all, a youth with silvery white hair, and a sword strapped to his back, was now the one to speak. "Tell us why you're here." Speaking of his sword, he and the other four looked about ready to draw.

_'Oh shit.' _

"Wait! I don't want any trouble." Naruto raised both hands placatingly, his tone pleading, that of a peacemaker, trying to reason with hardened militants. "Really, lets just-

"Chire." The regal looking captain had already drawn, and even as Naruto looked on, his blade, the zanpaktou itself, dissolved into a flurry of sakura petals, leaving nothing but the hilt, whilst the flowers scattered in the breeze. "Senbonzakura."

"Kuchiki! Don't!" The tallest one tried to stop him, but still, the attack came.

As one, the blossoms swarmed, and immediately, he leapt away. But the blossoms, as if they possesed a will of their own, swirled back around. Naruto didn't have time to dodge, for a thousand gashes and slashes appeared all over his body. The blond gasped in pain, but the Kyuubi's chakra was already there, healing every cut instantaneously, leaving soft smooth skin where before there had been a bloody mess.

"Soten ni zase." His attention was drawn skyward as he saw that one of the captains had now leapt skyward. Already, the skies, once bright and sunny, had now begun to darken and swirl ominously. It was almost as if a storm were gathering.

"Hyorinmaru!"

A massive creature of ice leapt from the tip of his blade, circled for a moment, then rushed Naruto. Realizing the talking would only get him killed, the jinchuuriki gathered chakra in his palm. Moments later, the distinctive whirling sound of the sphere filled his ears and burned his hand.

Dragging his hand so it carved a gash in the ground, Naruto lunged at the beast, rasengan in hand. Raising his chakra filled palm, he and the dragon were near to colliding, the elemental beast with its gaping jaws wide, whilst its creator ran in its shadow...

It between the two jaws, Naruto dragged his hand through. Miracuously, he,cut through the entire technique, then through the dragon of ice itself, sawing it in half and leaving it as nothing but shattered ice upon the earth.

Then he realized that the action had frozen his arm, and the captain was still going.

Naruto was caught off guard by his speed, as the youth swung the sword to strike, cold, frozen ice waves erupting just before impact.

The field suddenly exploded, throwing Naruto up into the air. The captain was already there, just as the broad side of his sword smote the blond in the chest, and he was sent back once more, higher into the air. Snarling, he slapped began a set of one handed seals-

"GIANT VORTEX JUTSU!"

Water rushed down from the sky, drenching Toshirou, who froze the deluge on the spot.

"Yo! Up here."

Naruto was suddenly above him, sucking in a deep breath, his chest expanding as his lungs filled with chakra. Chasing the roar down his throat, a large red orb began to gather at his mouth. He paused, just longe enough to see the surprise in the steely eyes of the captain, then the wave of red light, a _cero_ poured out of his maw evaporating the giant ice dragon, and colliding with the said taichou. He plumeted from the ground, badly burned, but still alive. Only for Naruto to land on him, feet first and into his chest.

He screamed, and the blond threw back his head, the steel swishing just over his nose. Backflipping away, he rolled to his feet and glanced at his frozen arm. "Damn." With a small, pained cry, he smashed the ice covered limb. The torn flesh began to swell, the bulge, bore an entirely new arm took its place.

"Shit shit shit shit." He groaned, popping the joints of the new appendage. "That _hurt."_

"Instantaneous regeneration?" The tall, sickly looking man remarked with something akin to awe, for Naruto stood there, entirely unharmed, the only real damage being done thus far was to his shihakusho. "How is that even possible?"

"Easy now Jushirou." The flamboyant looking fellow, the one wearing a pink kimono over his haori remarked. He, unlike the rest, remained completely unperturbed, not even having drawn his wazikashi or his katana. Now, he spoke to Naruto. "Say, espada-san, why haven't you drawn your sword?"

"My sword?" Naruto blinked in surprise, his hand still steaming from deflecting the massive ice dragon. "Why would I do that? You guys attacked _me_ first!"

"Oh?" The man remarked with a charismatic smile, tilting his straw hat up ever so slightly. "But it's right there."

His gaze fell to the semi-normal _katana_ at the blonde's hip. It sported a pewter-colored rectangular guard, with small protrusions on each corner, and a sun-like design wrapped around the hilt's collar. The hilt itself was a golden-yellow, and the sheath a metallic-gold, not unlike his hair.

"And I'd rather not use it." Naruto countered, fiddling with the hilt as he spoke. "Which is why I _won't_ draw it."

"Arrancar." The regal looking captain, known as Kuchiki, now spoke as Senbonzakura swirled back into its sealed state. "Are you so arrogant as to believe that you can defeat us _without_ your sword?"

"No, I'm _not_." The jinchuuriki growled, "Like I said, you started this shit, attacking me before I could finish talking!"

"You shouldn't make judgments like that." Jushirou cleared his throat to speak. "Besides, you're the one who's not acting like himself."

_"Enough."_ Naruto snarled, releasing his pent up frustration in the form of spiritual pressure. "I've had enough of this. I don't know if Aizen tricked you into coming here or not, but let me assure you," The captains' remained upright, but surprise reflected upon their expression's. "I won't let you have this village! I'd rather die than let you have my home!"

"Village?" Jushirou arched an eyebrow. "What-

"Wait." The fifth captain, a young woman who had remained silent thus far, finally spoke up, stepping forward to reveal herself. Her light violet eyes locked upon Naruto, who glared right back at her, and after a moment, looking to her fellow captains, she spoke again. "Let us hear him out."

The men immediately quieted, almost as if they feared her.

"You were saying?" She asked, and Naruto blinked in surprise. Weird, one minute they were attacking him, and _now_ they wanted to try their hand at diplomacy? A small scowl formed as he sealed his spiritual pressure away.

"What, now you wanna talk?"

"I understand your skepticism," She began,"But please, explain your side of the story to us, espada-san-

_"Naruto."_ He cut in harshly. "It's _Naruto_."

"Very well then, Naruto-san." She took all his doubts, all his skepticism in stride, and continued, tossing them to the wayside with her soft spoken manner, and her polite, courteous smile. It unnerved him slightly, that she could remain so calm in the face of danger. "Then please, explain what you're doing here."

"Heh." Naruto shook his head. "Can't do that."

This irked one of the captains. "Why you-

"Calm yourself, _captain_ Hitsugaya." The woman's calm facade cracked slightly, as she shot the youth a fierce glare. "We did not come here to fight, we simply came to speak with him. Your actions, and those of captain Kuchiki were entirely uncalled for.

"H-Hai." The young man muttered, glancing away, and even Byakuya faltered under her intense stare. "The tree's have eyes." Naruto replied cryptically, gesturing to the forest in a wide arc. "If I tell you anything, then Aizen will have my head."

"If you're really against Aizen, we could offer you our protection." Ukitake smiled kindly, and for a moment, just a _moment_, Naruto wanted to believe him. He wanted to believe that the Soul Society had that power, that they really could protect him from Sosuke.

But that was a lie. How could you protect a single being from an entire army? Aizen didn't have the numbers on his side, not yet, but with the espada, he didn't need them. Together, each Espada could put up a decent fight against a captain, if not kill them outright.

"No. You can't." He shook his head insistently, pain in his soul, filling his voice with raw agony. "Aizen has someone important to me. If I go against him, she'll be used as leverage. I can't let that happen."

"I see." Unohana sounded truly contrite now. "Unfortunately, we may have to intervene regardless of your situation."

"And why is that?"

Within five minutes, she surmised the existence of a place called Karakura town. It, like Konoha, was the jirichi needed for the creation of the _Oken_, also know as the king's key. This was Sosuke Aizen's true goal, to create a replica of the key, and force his way into the king's dimension, thus killing him and taking the title of king for himself. If he could not obtain Karakura, then he would come here, to Konoha.

It was even possible that he would come here after eradicating Karakura town. This then, was what Ulquiorra meant, about Konohagakure becoming their battlefield. He had a good idea of what would happen to his home, but he still had to ask that terrible question:

"Wait, what'll happen to my village?"

Byakuya finally spoke.

"It would be utterly destroyed, wiped out of existence, along with all those who inhabit it."

Naruto nearly fell to his knees with this revelation.

"No...

"I understand that this is a bit much to take in." Unohana replied quietly. "We were quite shocked by it ourselves."

"Isn't there anything that I can do?" He pleaded, hoping, praying that there was some secret, some part of this that was yet being kept from him. Yes, there had to be some way, there had to be _something_ he could do, anything!

Then it hit him.

"I can give you information." Ripping off the bandage on his arm, he showed them his tattoo. "See? I'm the decima. That's gotta be good for _something_, right?" There was a moment of silence, then at last, he was given an answer.

"That would put you at great personal risk." Unohana warned him. "If Aizen were to suspect you of leaking information, then-

"I know." Naruto sighed, but there was a firm resolution in those steely blue eyes. "But I...I can't just let my home disappear. Besides," A wry, yet bitter grin tugged at his lips. "I'm not exactly a pushover myself. I know how to use this power, and I'm gonna use it until I get my friend back."

"But you'll surely die if you fight Aizen." Ukitake insisted.

"Nope." At last, the blond allowed himself to grin, as he lifted up the upper half of his shihakusho, thus exposing the seal there. "I have something he wants, and he can't get it without killing me." There were a few startled intakes of breath from the males', but Retsu remained silent at the mention of the biju.

"And what do you have to gain from this?" Hitsugaya was dubious of unwilling to trust what he considered to be the enemy.

"When this war starts, just don't hurt Apache or Haku." His tone became pleading again, but his eyes hardened to red diamon slits. "Injure them if you can, but anything other than that, and our deal's off."

"Weeeeelll....Kyoraku drawled, clapping the blond on one shoulder. "You're quite spirited, aren't you? Maybe we can share a drink sometime, eh?"

"I'm underage." Naruto replied blandly.

Shunsui gave a lighthearted shrug, laughing, to which Ukitake shook his head and sighed. "Ah, too bad then. Maybe a year or two from now, huh?"

"We wish you the best of luck then, Naruto-san." Unohana smiled kindly at him, and this somehow drew a light blush from the jinchuuriki. Why did he feel so flustered all of a sudden? She was just being nice, that was all.

Drawing her sword, she stabbed at the air, and once again the air itself opened into the sliding door, a _Senkaimon. _The gate used by all shinigami to travese from their world to the world of the living, also referred to as the material world.

"Farewell."

Without another word, she stepped into the light.

"Ahem."

Naruto glared back at Toshirou.

"You got something to say, shorty?"

Though this comment clearly riled Toshirou, the captain just 'Humphed' and walked through the gate. So irritated was he, that he nearly missed the captain's words irate, yet concerned words. "Don't get yourself killed, espada."

_'Well thanks.' _He retorted to himself.

Byakuya stopped just before entering the senkaimon, one foot in the world of the living, the other in the door.

"Uzumaki."

"What?" The blond eyed him, watched the noble warily.

Surprisingly, a thin smile touched the face of Byakuya Kuchiki. "It seems I was wrong about you." It didn't exactly reach his eyes, but Byakuya seemed genuinely pleased for some unknown, as of yet unexplained reason. _'This boy...He's just like that man..._

"You're just like your father, Uzumaki. One can only hope you don't soil his reputation."

With that cryptic line, he vanished.

Leaving Naruto to wonder.

_They knew his father?_

**Pairings still undecided! Next time: The dawn of Atrocity. Akatsuki makes their move!**


	4. Jealous

He was happy, overjoyed even, to find that some of his friends had returned the next day. By the time the sun had began to set, he'd spent most, if not the entire day with his most cherished friends.

Most, but not all.

Now, as he slowly plodded his way through the streets, he happened upon her.

First, he heard the startled gasp. He, his body went rigid as he heard her, that all too familiar voice, older, but he knew it was still her. Slowly, he turned to look to the right of him, her name forming on his lips, but he was unable to speak as he got a good look at her. In all her radiant beauty, that he had only come to appreciate once he was gone for those three years of training.

She was standing right next to him, less than a foot away, and looking _right at him _with those lovely lavender pale eyes of hers.

Hinata's heart skipped a beat, as she held her hands over her now fully blossomed chest, having grown fully into womanhood over the past three years. Where once she had always worn a thick and heavy tan jacket, she now wore a purple sleeveless one, the light material thinner and clinging to her large chest. And over it was a light vest Chunin flak jacket that she wore over it as well, indicating that she was indeed a Chunin.

She also now wore black baggy pants, not jeans, nor sweats, but a cross between the two, the fabric light and soft, and ending just below her knees as it fit her snugly, her shuriken holster strapped to her left leg, whilst her kunai holder was on the right. She was now at least 5 '8, nearing the six foot mark, and in the fading light of the sun, her eyes, her _hair_ seemed to catch the light and sparkle.

Finally, he DID speak, and Hinata placed both hands over her heart as he spoke, feeling it skip another beat as she heard his new voice, deeper now, more masucline. Contrasting hers, which was now soft, smooth, feminine.

She had grown up.

And so had he.

"Hinata...

Clearing her throat, she finally spoke, and Naruto found himself enraptured by her soft and sweet voice, as well as transfixed by her beauty. "Naruto-kun, you're back. You're really, finally back."

All he could manage was a: "Yeah."

Kami! Why couldn't he just _talk_ to her?! He had done that _easily_ enough before he left, so why-

He rebuked himself for that. He already knew the answer, as she scooted to the left, drawing closer to him.

He had fallen in love with her. How ironic was that? He hadn't seen her in THREE years, and somehow he had fallen for her? Talk about tacky. He was essentially _dead_, trying to save the world, potentially involved in a relationship with _two other girls,_ and yet here he was, playing with this, this strange train of thought.

He barely even knew her!

But tacky or not, he knew this to be true.

He liked her.

Kinda sorta, really, REALLY liked her.

And he at least owed it to her to be honest before it happened. After all, he might never get this chance again. "Hey," He began nervously, scratching the back of his head. "I've got some free time before my next mission....You...wanna go somewhere?"

"N-Nani?" Her face lit a fierce sputtering pink. Her mind was in shambles at this. Was he asking her out? What brought this about so suddenly? More importantly, why? He'd only ever expressed interest in _Sakura_, never in her.

_'Oh screw it!'_

Then his lips were pressed against hers. At first she couldn't believe it, but no, this was no genjutsu, no, after pinching herself, she was still very much awake. Hinata's face turned an impossibly bright shade of pink. She found herself at a loss for words as he moved his lips over her own, gently covering them, the warm air tickling her face. Still, she stood stone still, her plae eyes going wide from the unexpected kiss. Sure she had WANTED him to kiss her, secretly hoped and dreamed about it, but never she had _ever, _not in her wildest dreams, thought that he would _actually_ KISS her!

Her. The shy girl. The one who was always meek and bashful around him, had taken a gamble and shown just a little shred of boldness, and had been well rewarded for it. _Finally _her mind caught up with her, and she realized exactly what he had done, what he was DOING right here and now.

'_He's kissing me...Naruto-kun is actually kissing me! I can't believe it! It feels...incredible..._

Hinata gave out a content sigh as they breathed through each others mouths, neither of them in any sort of hurry to surface as the kiss that warmed her to the very core. She didn't care that the heat in her was boiling, she'd gladly walk through the very flames of hell for the way that kiss made her feel. She felt as if she could fly—no, she _was_ flying—miles above the world on a cloud of soft cotton.

So much was told through this glorious kiss their FIRST kiss. Things were said in it that words couldn't even _begin_to say, and both of them felt the same sensation of joy and bliss. If pictures were worth a thousand words, then the first kiss between Naruto Uzuamki and Hinata Hyuuga was worth FAR more than a million.

It was simply wonderful.

--

On the other side of town, Naruto opened his eyes.

The shadow clone he'd made and sent out into tone was laced with enough chakra to take a near fatal blow and keep going. It was a perfect duplicate. This way, only the most trained eye would be able to recognize the clone as a fake. Granted, once it vanished he wouldn't be able to make another for awhile, but that didn't matter compared to the end of the world being so close at hand. With a growing sense of trepidation, he touched at the sky with a finger.

With a terrible popping sound, the garaganta roared into existence. Stretched before him like the throat of death, an endless void of swirling energy that awaited his entry. Slowly, he stepped through, creating a path with his mind.

"I'm sorry everyone, but this is goodbye."

However, so hellbent on leaving was he...

That he missed someone watching in the distance.

--

A loud crash filled Las Noches.

"Move."

"Hey, you can't just-Ngh!"

Unannounced, the doors creaked open, and a familiar figure stepped through them, the steady click click of his sandals the only sound to be heard. Gone was his black shihakusho, replaced by a pure white hakama. Those espada currently present blinked in surprised at his sudden return.

His headband was nowhere to be seen.

But the man at the head ot the table remained entirely unfazed. "Ah, welcome back, Naruto." Aizen gave him a small smile in greeting, seemingly ignorant of the small scowl the decima wore, and he chose to ignore the bloodstains upon his collar. "I see you're still maintaining your disguise."

"So the brute has returned." Szayel remarked snarkly.

Zommari, and Halibel, did not say a word to him, though the corners of Barragan's mustache lifted in a small smirk. As expected, he was met with a frown from Kaname, but Ichimaru's expression remained unreadable as always.

"Looks like you got in a fight." Grimmjow remarked with a grin as he saw the blood.

"Yo." Nnoitra remarked simply as the blond took his seat. "Long time no see, gaki."

"So, that's it huh?" Stark yawned, scratching the back of his head with a small sigh. "You just decided to come back?"

"..." Ulquiorra stared at him for a moment, before at last the silence was broken by Aaroniero Arruruerie's twisted voice."Wait, what about Yammy? Wasn't he-

"Not anymore." Naruto answered, putting on his best grin, pretending to enjoy the taste of blood in his mouth as he liked the stains away. "The bastard had my spot, so I...took care of him." A sudden hush fell over the espada. Yammy of their own, possible killed in cold blood, and there wasn't a scratch on Naruto , aside from the bloodstains.

Taking a sip of his tea, Aizen spoke once more.

"Well then, now that our decima has decided to join us, shall we continue?"

--

Naruto allowed himself a small sigh as he finally escaped the tension of the throne room. To say the meeting had been boring was obvious, but he'd paid attention to every little detail, no matter how trivial. If it would buy him his freedom and put an end to Aizen, then it was all worth it.

Walking down the hall to his quarters, he allowed his mind to drift away from him. That soon proved to be a mistake, for as he wandered deeper into Las Noches, he was unaware of just where he was going.

But by then it was too late.

"Well well, hello, little ant. What brings you here?"

The hairs on his neck rose. A monstrous spiritual pressure slammed into Naruto, nearly forcing his knees to buckle and give out. "Barragan-san." The formality tasted foul on his lips, but he swallowed the bile that rose in his throat and turned to find his fellow espada looming over him. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Hmph." The elder grunted, his eye narrowing. "You still haven't answered my question, boy."

"I got lost." That was a bold faced lie, and they both knew it. Every single espada knew their way around Las Noches, after all, Aizen had hammered the layout into their skulls. It was virtually impossible for an espada to become lost.

"Lies." Barragan declared with a frown. "Did that fool Aizen send you here?"

_'Don't lie, lying only makes it worse-_

If there was any espada he feared, it was Barragan Luisenbarn. Not only did he have six fanatically loyal fraccion, but for some inexplicable reason, he and Naruto simply did not get along. Whereas Naruto had own agenda, Barragan also had plans of his own, and those plans often involved harassing Naruto.

Yet they shared a common hatred for Aizen.

But there was no mistaking the animosity, nor the obvious gap in power between them. Though he didn't want to admit it, Naruto was, regrettably, the weakest amongst the espada, hence his rank. Barragan could crush him with a finger if he really wanted to.

"Sorta." He lied through his teeth, hoping to play on Barragan's one weakness, his titanic sense of pride. "He says that you'd better step up your training if you ever hope to kill him, _God of Hueco Muendo." _The reaction was explosive, to say the least.

_"WHAT?!"_A wall of dark red reaitsu erupted from the 'King', nearly toppling Naruto to the ground as Barragan roared in fury. Now this was a gamble. Barragan was seething with rage now, rage that could easily be turned upon Naruto, and crush him into dust. " How _dare _he! That worm! He _dare_ insult me?!"

An idea surfaced.

"What say we team up?" Naruto ventured, and immediately, the storm of reaitsu died down.

"You mean, ally myself with _you_?" Barragan was incredulous.

"No no no." Naruto insisted, making himself as humble as one jinchuuriki could be. He could've bowed, but that was beyond him, for he bowed to no one. "I was merely requesting the honor of allying myself with _you_, Barragan-sama."

Tension hung thick in the air. If Barragan were to refuse his offer, then Naruto was in hot water. The former ruler of Hueco Muendo would make a powerful ally, but if he were to refuse, then Naruto would have to risk taking him out, lest his mission be compromised.

To do that, he'd have to release, and even then, his chances were terribly slim. No, the entire success of his plan hinged on the outcome of Barragan's answer. He could only pray that the espada's hatred of Aizen overran the hatred he held for _him._

"Very well." Barragan rumbled at last, placing one gigantic hand on the blonde's head. "You shall have the honor of becoming my accomplice. You will assist me in removing that shinigami from _my _throne."

Naruto breathed a shaky sigh of relief, only when his superior rounded the corner, and even then only after he couldn't hear his footsteps in the distance. He really, _really _hated Barragan, but it was better to be with him than against him. Trying to shake off the lingering sensation of dread, the decima hastened towards his quarters.

--

It was in the hall, just before he entered his room, that he saw her, or rather, _heard_ her.

"Naruto?" It was a gasp, and he could feel the air rushing out of her lungs. He froze, his body refusing to respond. Her voice came from behind him, but he dared not turn, he couldn't bring himself to face her, not after all this time. He'd left without a goodbye last time, and of course she'd been hurt.

He remembered the tears in her eyes, how'd she'd cried and cried when he told her it was over. She'd cursed him, spat every single profanity known to man, but she had never once said she didn't love him any more.

"Naruto!"

He couldn't move, he couldn't _breathe_. All sense of movement and motion abandoned him now, leaving the _decima_ helpless, unable to move as her footfalls approached him. Slowly at first, then with an ever increasing tempo, soon becoming a sprint.

By the grace of kami, he managed to whirl around at the last second before she tackled him, lurching back half a step in surprise, falling through the door, and into his quarters, slamming into the adjacent wall as the door snapped shut behind them. She didn't hit him, as he'd expected, but instead threw herself, her arms, around him. Soft sobs followed the glomp, and he found himself staring into those lovely matchless eyes, one an icy shade of sky blue, the other, a bright amber.

He couldn't help himself.

Wrapping one arm tightly around her waist, he pressed her head into his chest with the other, and inhaled deeply. Her scent, the smell of sweet tree sap filled him, and a shaky, ragged sigh escaped his lips. He was relieved, so very _relieved_ that she was alright, that nothing had happened to her.

"Apache...

She shuddered, but didn't speak.

He understood.

He'd missed it, the feel of her body, pressed tightly against his own, of _her_. Her _name _it was so sweet, rolling off his tongue, and it felt so _right_ just to hold her like this, to embrace her, away from prying eyes, where no one could see.

He couldn't bring himself to let go, for his arms held her tight, her bosom pressed tightly, flush against him, one leg entangled in her one. Unbidden, he ran his hand, gently through her hair, a soft, gentle blue. She whimpered, but still didn't speak, for words were a waste on them as he traced the line of her chin, caressing her cheek.

"Naruto...

His name, spilling off her lips, shattered what little self control he still possessed.

Instinct took over, and he crushed his lips against hers, spilling three years worth of separation, frustration, of _emotion _into the kiss. She moaned in ecstasy, eyes snapping open, then sliding gently shut, as she worked her hands through the rough, unruly mane of blond that was his hair.

He still couldn't believe how much this, how much she set him off, even now. It was as if the three years of distancing himself from the world, from her, had only served to bring them that much closer together.

Her tongue slid over his, her lips parting, inviting him in as her hands worked their way down to his neck, securing themselves a handhold. He didn't mind it when she curled her other leg around his back, with his height, holding her wasn't difficult, even with her legs locked around him.

She laughed suddenly, her voice muffled into his mouth. It was a short laugh, one born of pure bliss, and he chuckled in kind. Forcing her back, he soon had her on the bed, and immediately, her hands began to work at his jacket, and it wasn't long before it flew off, and joined their sandals on the floor.

She squirmed under him, whimpering in delight as he brazenly reached under her shirt, touching against her bare skin, setting her entire body afire with ecstasy. Slowly, his fingers crept across her shirt, and they were forced to break the kiss for a moment.

Her shirt joined his on the ground, and she moaned as his hands found their way to her cleavage, brieflu, softly kneading the soft pillows together before she batted them away, a clear sign that she wanted him to hold her by the waist.

"God I missed this." She gasped, grabbing him by the back of the head, and pulling him in for another kiss.

This was wrong. They shouldn't, _couldn't_ be doing this, yet they were. They could be caught at any minute, but neither seemed to care. There was a small lingering sense of guilt in Naruto's mind, in regards to Haku and Hinata, but his desire shoved it down.

Th

--

"Uzumaki." He was greeted with a flood of spiritual pressure as he stepped out of the door. Halibel, the only female member of the espada, and by far, the deadliest when it came to direct combat. He could lie of course, but the bedraggled state in which he'd put himself would give him away.

"Where is Apache?"

Oh yes, there would be trouble.

"I don't know."

"Don't lie. Her scent is all over you."

Indeed Apache's scent was on him, and the espada seemed to notice this. Well of course, they'd been all over each other. No wonder he had her scent. Not many of the espada were gifted with a keen scent of smell, Grimmjow and himself were the sole exceptions.

And apparently, Halibel was as well.

"Naruto?" Apache's voice could be heard from within, and now, she poked her head out the door, clad in nothing more than her bra and hakama pants. He froze, realizing any attempts to dismiss this as foolishness were long gone. Apache realized this was as well and seemed to pale, her sun kissed skin turning an almost ghostly white.

She tried to hide behind him, but it was too late.

"Apache, come." Halibel ordered. "We're leaving-

"Stay inside." Naruto countered suddenly, and the blond frowned.

"Excuse me?"

"Well...it seems we have a problem,you and I." Naruto fiddled with the hilt of his zanpaktou but did not draw it. This was foolish, this was reckless, he knew this, yet, still love drunk from his time with Apache, Naruto was not thinking as clearly as he would have preferred. "You see, I don't approve of your methods, and apparently," -He curled one arm protectively around Apache's waist to prove his point-"Neither does _my _fraccion."

Oh. Now he'd done it. Her eyes widened slightly, she was surprised by the sudden bite in his tone. "_Your _fraccion?" He'd just sassed one of his superiors, and she hadn't seen it coming, but the storm was building behind her visage. He was met with silence thereafter. He couldn't see her expression behind her collar, but the narrowing of her eyes was warning enough.

"Apache!" He barked, and she leapt back into the room.

But in the moment of distraction, disaster struck.

"I don't recall asking for your opinion in this matter, _decima_." There was a rush of air, then her sword, now unsheathed, met with steel. But he was already backpedalling, bleeding from a deep gash in his forearm. She'd cut right through his hierro as if it were nothing.

_'Damnit she's fast!'_

He kicked at her, but his leg passed through empty air. With a buzz of static she appeared behind him, Tiburon arcing through the air and claiming flesh once more. Hissing in pain, the jinchuuriki recoiled from the attack, but again, his hand met empty air.

This continued for some time. Every time he moved to strike he, she'd attack from behind, and he simply didn't have the speed to counter her. Then it hit him. He didn't need to grab her to counter. Biting his thumb, he lunged at the blur where she was about to appear, her Tiburon passing dangerously close to his nose.

Finally, he whirled on her, azure cero sparking in his palm, blood leaking down from his thumb. "Gran rey cero." A brief flicker of surprise registered in Halibel's eyes, but too late, the hollow flash slammed into her, eating its way through the floor, tearing a hole in the adjoining wall, before at last its power dissipated.

"Was that all you had?"

_'Impossible...._

Naruto fell to the ground, wincing as he willed his wounds to close. He could feel someone, presumably Apache, helping him up. But the voice turned itself towards him once more as a figure emerged from the thick black smoke. "Step away, Apache." There she stood, completely and entirely unharmed._ "Damnit."_ He gasped, trying his best to stand. He hadn't even scratched her, unless you counted her jacket, which was in shambles.

With a grunt, she tossed aside the rags. Revealed was her mask, a sinister grint hat covered her entire lower jaw, stretched out onto her neck, and covered her cleavage in a thin line. And there, tattooed upon her breast was _tres_, the number three.

When Apache did not budge, the tercera swatted her aside with a yellow bala. There was a dull crunch of bone as Apache hit the wall, and Naruto screamed his protest, struggled to hid feet as she neared her, but Halibel would have none of it, slamming a spike of stone into his gut, impaling him.

She backhanded Apache , throwing her weakened body to the ground. Before she had a chance to even attempt to stand again, the blond pinned her arms down with his hands, her nails claws digging painfully into Apache's delicate flesh.

"Any last words?"

"I wish you'd shove it." Naruto spat at her, reaching for his sword. "You know where." But she struck, impaling his hand to the wall before he could draw, or potentially release. He hissed in surprised pain, but Halibel's expression did not waver, not even once.

"Damnit." He groaned, his skin beginning to crawl. "I _really_ didn't wanna use this...

"Die."

_"Desolar los cane."_ **(Ravage the flesh)** He muttered under his breath, his body flaring a bright crimson, stopping her cold. So intense was the energy, that the wall behind him shattered, throwing Tiburon towards her, and freeing the jinchuuriki from his imprisonment. Startled, Halibel backed away, but that proved to be a mistake as the wall of reaitsu buffeted her back several feet. Naruto had somehow gotten back up now, and as she looked on, he partially drew his swords, exposing an inch of steel.

He uttered but two words.

_"El diablo."_

His body exploded, spraying black fog everywhere.

There was a loud crash as something shattered, and Halibel lurched back in surprise, realizing _it_ was part of her mask, exposing her left cheek. A hellish creature waded out of the thick smoke, wielding a large ornamental scythe with black edges. One clawed fist curled around the pole of the weapon, and the other seemed to be reaching for something. Stunned, Halibel could only stare at it. Naruto growled menacingly, He reared his head back and bellowed a deep roar, seizing her by the throat, his face inches from hers. His claws dug further into her flesh, far enough to draw blood and make her wince.

A deep, gravelly voice emerged from his throat.

**"Let...Apache...go."**

She scowled, and headbutted him.

He grimaced and used the scythe to block the first jab she made at him with her _Tiburon_ then twisted his blade around to block the second as well; he was knocked horribly off balance by the sheer power behind the strikes in the process. Before the Vasto Lorde could press her attack though, she was forced back by a short chain of cero, courtesy of a still concious Apache.

The cero didn't neccesarily do much damage, but by the time the smoke had cleared, Naruto waded back into the fray, his giant reaper carving a path before him, parting the smoke before him as if it were something tangible. Thanks to this smoke, she _still_ couldn't get a good read on his resurreccion, other than the fact that it topped six fieet.

But before the fighting could truly continue, it had to be interrupted.

"Now now, why are you fighting?" Naruto snapped around to find an annoyed Starrk watching them both, and immediately, they were pinned. He had Halibel by the wrist, and Naruto by the shoulder, his speed so incredible that neither had even seen him coming. "I was in the middle of my nap, and your ruckus woke me up."

Both blonde's winced at the accusation.

"Now apologize." He released a glimmer of his own reiatsu in warning, the teal blue light flickering at the corner of his fingertips. "Both of you."

"I'm sorry for striking you, Halibel-_sama_. Sorry." Naruto muttered, not meaning a single word of it. Halibel muttered the same, but the look on her face, and the way she held her cracked jaw made it perfectly clear that this scuffle had become a full blown feud.

"Na-ru-to." A small, broken gasp grabbed his attention.

"Apache!" The smoke suddenly vanished as the decima sealed his blade and sprinted over to his former fraccion. Her left arm was at an odd angle, and she appeared to have a few broken ribs, but still, she glared up at him defiantly, even when he scooped her lithe form into his arms.

"Watch where yer puttin' yer hands!"

"Shaddap!" He snarled, and she winced.

"Sorry."

"I'll be going." Halibel responded, clearly irritated by this.

"Thanks." Naruto waited until the tercera was gone, but was still genuinely grateful for Starrk's intervention. "Don't thank me." The espada replied, and there was now just the slightest hint of irritation in his voice. "_Your_ fraccion was actually the one who made me get out of bed."

Blue eyes widened.

"Wha?!"

**Sorry, cant give the details on Naruto's release yet! :)Next time: Laying the groundwork for destruction. A broken, tormented heart.**


	5. Death? Or Rebirth?

"I'm coming in."

"Na-Naruto wait! I'm not decent-

He barged in without knocking, kicking the door in with his heel. Hastily, she wrapped the towel around her naked body, having just come out of the shower.

He reddened in embarassment, but such a trivial thing would not slow him, not now.

"So, you must be feeling pretty smug right now." He loomed behind her, over her like a second shadow. "After all, you didn't make a peep for three years, so why not?"

She started, visibly surprised by his sudden and unnanounced appearance in her quarters. Judging by the dark clouds brewing in his eyes, Stark had told him the news.

"Why didn't you tell me?" There was pain in his voice, she'd hurt him by keeping this a secret. _"Why?"_

"I tried to tell you-

"When?!" He hissed, advancing suddenly. But he did not strike her, he somehow managed to control himself, and not a moment too soon. "_When_ did you try to tell me, huh?!"

KA-RUNCH!

The wall, inches from her head, was now missing a huge piece of plaster. A steaming crater that could have been her, if not for his feelings for her.

Feelings that had soured and turned to rage.

"WELL?!"

"I tried that _night_!" She cried, distraught, tears brimming in her doe brown eyes, the one's he adored. "But you didn't give me the time to say it!"

"You didn't even ask me!" He howled, wringing a hand through his frazzled hair, gaze turning to a sad, sorrowful crimson. "Damnit Haku, why three friggin years?!"

"You weren't here!" The tears were pooling now, ready to fall at the slightest provocation. "Do you have any idea how hard it was for me?!" Trembling, she hugged the towel tighter about herself. "I didn't come to him, he came to me!"

"What, you want us to end when you've never even started?! If you cared so much, then why the hell didn't you come see me instead of sucking face with that whore Apache?!"

"!!"

He winced, stung, hurt. His expression was blank, but he was leaving now, everything in his body language said it.

Haku realized her mistake, but couldn't take the words back, no matter how much she wanted to. He'd loved _her_ first, and _she_ had only come into the picture _after_ he'd ended with it with Apache.

She reached for his hand as he turned to go

"Naruto, wait, I-

_"Fine."_ He hissed through clenched teeth, batting her hand away. "If that's what you think, then you can just enjoy your time with Starrk. I'm sure the two of you will be _sooo_ happy together."

"Naruto, wait!"

"Screw you!" He snarled, flipping her the bird. "And stay the fuck away from me! That's an order!"Without another word, he exited, punching his way through the adjoining wall.

Leaving a distraught Haku in tears.

--

"Ah." Apache hopped off the table as he came into the medical ward, "See? Good as new." Szayel wasn't really one who enjoyed healing wounds so much as causing them, but that didn't mean he couldn't become the quite the accomplished healer in the right situation.

All it had taken was a blade to his throat to _persuade_ him.

Naruto didn't answer, instead he marched over to her, and proceeded to kiss her breathless. Red/Blue eyes widened in surprise, but she collapsed into the kiss all the same.

He breathed a sigh upon breaking away, taking her into his arms immediately. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you give me?" She made no attempts to resist, instead melting into the embrace, choosing to enjoy it before he became all self righteous again.

"So?"

"Baka." He sighed, hands fell down to her waist.

"Moron." She muttered, nuzzling her head into his chest, arms moving up to encircle his neck. "You're such a moron."

"Aren't you mad?"

His eyes, they were no longer blue, but a fierce, red slitted crimson, as often seen when he was tapping into the Kyuubi's power.

A clear sign she'd stressed him out.

"Mad?" She grinned, dragging him down into another rough kiss that left his lips numb. "Why the hell would I be pissed at you?"

"I'm serious." He held her at arms length. "You were really mad when I left."

"So am I." She wriggled forward, slipping her tongue inside his mouth, then biting back a sharp cry when he began to lick at her lips. "But I don't give a shit." She broke away to lick her lips. "You're back, and that's all."

"So you're not mad?"

Urgh, persistent this one was!

"No-I-am-not!" She grabbed him by the face, and headbutted him, giggling when as a thin line of blood ran down his forehead, then healed. "There! Nowstop bitching!"

"Haku and I...we're done." He growled suddenly, and her expression sombered as she got a good look at her face.

"Oh."

No wonder he always hid his true appearance.

With those eyes, he looked downright feral, but she loved that about him. He wasn't afraid to get down and dirty, hell, most of the time they _did_ get dirty. She _liked_ it rough, and they were rough together. Mix in one stubborn, instinctive espada, and a hotheaded tomboy, and this was the result.

"Here." She took his hands and brought them lower.

"Serious?" He gave her an incredulous look as they encircled her waist.

"Yeah-AH!"

She whimpered softly as he suddenly gave her rear a firm squeeze with both hands."W-Whoa! What the hell's gotten into you?!" _That_ had been unexpected, but she didn't mind, though there was no way in hell she was letting him now.

"We never finished." He muttered in between nibbling on her ear. "What we started."Aggression poured from him, into her, and forced down her better judgement.

"Perv." She groaned as he pressed her up against the wall, "Why the hell do you keep trying to get in my pants...?

But she showed no signs of resistance, helping his hands work at the sash of her hakama pants...

"Well well, lookee here." The two arrancar started at the voice, then simultaneously whirled to face the speaker. Of course, it was none other than Ichimaru Gin, grinning at them unsettlingly from his place at the door.

"If the two ya are done feelin' each other up, Aizen-sama wants ta see ya."

--

"What?" Naruto knew his words were weak, but even so, he could not bring himself to comprehend. "What the hell did you say?"

"My deepest apolgiece, Naruto-kun." Aizen didn't sound sorry at all. "But would you prefer I allow this action to go unpunished, merely because of your relationship with Halibel's fraccion?"

"She's _my_ fraccion! _Mine_ you hear me?!" The jinchuuriki all but roared, and Apache turned crimson, both in frustration and embarassment. She sure as hell belonged to no one, but...it was kinda cute that he was being so possesive over her.

Naruto however, did not see his actions as _cute_ in the least. He'd already lost Haku through his own stupidity, and he _refused_ to lose his only other love interest to Halibel-

"Oh? Then you claim the conflict lies with Halibel?"

Too late, Naruto realized he'd been baited. He sought the tercera espada, but she was nowhere to be found, leaving the decima to stew in his feelings of frustration and rage.

"She claims it lies with you, Naruto-kun."

"Bullshit." Naruto snarled. "Where the hell is she?!"

"Dont'cha know?" Gin's smile seemed to widen, if that were at all possible. His words confirmed the dread boiling in the blonde's stomach. "Yer gonna be fighting her."

"You can have Apache and another fraccion if you win." Tousen replied, and Naruto nearly leapt at him, but somehow restraine dhimself at the final second. "And if I refuse?"

"Apache dies." Aizen replied calmly. "Understood?" Everyone in the assembly hall froze at that. Naruto exchanged a glance with Barragan, but the elder looked away a clear sign to 'No'.

"Then I'll kill Halibel."

"If you can." Ichimaru grinned as the tercera stepped into view.

--

The moment they'd found an open enough space, it began. Everyone scrambled to get a front row seat as the clash began in earnerst, desert exploding in bluish white, then yellow reaitsu as the spectacle went further and further into the desert.

Blood suddenly began trickling from Naruto's forehead down into his right eye, causing him to blink hard against the sudden sting that swirled in his head.

She'd thrown a sharp shard of stone at him.

_Damn, _he thought as he reached down to dab at the wound, his hands moving in practiced movements as his eyes remained focused on the clearing smoke in front of him. _I guess that attack_ did _get me._

His thumb briefly rubbed in gash, scooping up a glob of the stuff, before he brought it back up to close the wound above his eyebrow. He felt a slight sting as the numbing agents in his saliva began to work their way into the thin slice on his forehead, his eyes twitching shut as he applied pressure.

He barely had time to block the strike.

His eyes had opened just in time to see Halibel's wide blade screaming downwards at his chest. His well-honed defenses had saved him, his arm bringing his zanpakuto up to block the attack before his mind had even registered the movement. He was forced backwards by the strength of the blow, his calloused feet skidding painlessly across the sand as he dropped himself into a defensive pose.

"Impressive reflexes, decima," said the tercera, her authoritative voice barely muffled by her new jacket, the high collar once more worn over her mouth. "I hadn't assumed that you'd be able to block that attack."

"You were waiting for me to tend to my wound before attacking?" Naruto asked with feigned surprise. "That's awfully mischievous."

"Am I incorrect in assuming you would do the same?" She asked back, her turquoise eyes glaring into his. "That you wouldn't take advantage of such a fortuitous opening?"

"Oh, no," he said as his smirk widened into a maniacal grin. "I'm actually quite _impressed_."

The jinchuuriki suddenly vanished in a burst of _sonido, _appearing in the air immediately behind his opponent as he slammed the base of his zanpakuto at her skull.

Halibel was now the one to find herself on the sudden defense, her hollowed blade arcing upwards to barely block the broad slash that rocketed downwards from her nodachi that was his weapon clashed against her zanpakuto with a surprising amount of force, the sharpened edge of her _Tiburón _doing nothing against the hardened that was pressing against it. She slid back almost a foot before finding her balance and planting her feet. She swiped forward with her blade, causing Naruto to leap backwards, his nimble body flipping backwards in the air before landing delicately on one foot.

"Impressive reflexes." Naruto chortled, mocking his opponent as he put his second foot on the ground. "But I was actually _hoping_ that you would be able to block that one."

"Hoping, you say?" she asked as her opponent grasped the hilt with two hands. "Wouldn't you rather kill me quickly?"

"Hell no!" Naruto said with a barking, grating laugh. "I'm not letting you get off easy!"

Her blonde eyebrows tightened. "You value the fight over the victory?" she asked skeptically.

"Fuck no. I value _friends_ over everything else," he countered as he ceased the spinning of his weapon, dropping it down to point its tip at her. "Compared to the that, everything else is meaningless."

"How foolish," she said shortly. "I'll make you regret your priorities."

She rushed at him, her broad blade swinging in a wide arc. To her surprise, he leapt directly _into_ her attack, the shaft of his spear crashing against her blade with a loud _clack. _The wooden shaft slid along the edge of her sword, the distance between her body and his deadly blade diminishing with frightening speed. She spun her torso to the left at the last second, avoiding a potentially deadly strike, before coming back with another slash.

Naruto ducked the attack, his body hitting the ground as the blade sliced through the air harmlessly. He kicked out with his leg, his limb making a broad sweeping motion as he swept Halibel's legs out from under her. She fell backwards almost immediately as both of her feet left the ground, giving him the time to regain his footing and launch another attack. He lifted _Diablo_ over his head and swung down with all of his might, aimed directly for his opponent's exposed stomach.

Halibel was gone, vanishing in a buzz of _sonido _before her body had even hit the stone tiles below. She reappeared behind Uzumaki, her blade pointing at the back of his spiky head from a few feet away. With a quick movement, she thrust it forward and a blue bolt of energy shot forth.

"_Projectile Azúl."_

_"Shit!"_

The attack shot forth at lightning speed, causing Naruto to twist his body around in an impossible angle so that the blue bullet would miss his torso. Halibel wasted little time as she rushed forward, her blade now swinging down from the sky as she attempted to cleave her opponent in half. Naruto leapt into the air once more, his body spinning away from his attacker as he placed several yards between the two of them.

"See?" he asked, almost teasingly. "Aren't you glad I didn't kill you?"

"Impertinence is quite an unsightly trait for you, Uzumaki," Halibel quipped with irritation. "I no longer see any reason to keep you alive."

"Is that so?" He asked, his defense dropping as he stood straight up. "Does that mean you'll stop holding back?"

"You wish to see my true power?" she asked, her hand tightening on the grip of her sword. "How absurd. You wouldn't last even a _second_ were I to release."

"You are so _arrogant," _Naruto said with a chuckle. "Remember what I did to you last time?"

"No," she shot back, her body sliding backwards into attack position. "That was a fluke. I _am_ superior to you."

"Fine then, _don't _release." Naruto scowked darkly as he prepared himself for the clash. "But watch out for _it_."

Halibel didn't ask what _it _was. She simply rushed forward, her deadly blade lunging forward as she approached her espada counterpart. He darted forward as well, his swinging to the inside of her sword. She quickly altered her trajectory as she saw his counter-attack unfold, bringing her blade inwards before clashing with his weapon in an outward swing. She now found herself on the inside of his defenses, her blade running along the inside of his katana, its deadly edge sliding down to his open chest.

Then the hand, filled with chakra raked itself across her face, shredding away the white collar that covered her mouth before biting into the bone mask that took up the majority of her face.

Halibel leapt backwards in surprise and pain as her shirt slumped in tatters over her 's left hand was covered in red reiatsu, taking the shape and form of a demonic claw. He'd cleaved _another_ small chunk of her mask away, leaving the righy side of her mouth bloody and exposed. Naruto laughed lightly before he formed another chakra claw, now each of his hands deadly weapons.

"I told you to watch out for _it_."

Halibel stood from kneeling, the freshly exposed left side of her mouth curving upwards in a slight sneer, the crimson blood staining her ivory teeth.

"You said that I was the arrogant one," she said venomously. "Yet your obvious pride seems to overwhelm your words. Allow me to devour your conceit with the _resurrección _you were so anxious to see."

She pointed her blade forward at Naruto, a wave of water like _reiatsu _appearing behind her as he frowned. "Now come." Without any warning, Halibel rocketed into the air, leaving a trail of steam in her wake. Naruto leapt after her, swatting away the shards of the dome that fell in his eyes.

Then the night greeted him.

He had only see the moon of Hueco Muendo but once, and it added a surreal backdrop to their clash.

Standing upon the roof of Las Noches, he saw her, on the innermost pillar. He regarded her in confusion, and she replied with a small sneer. "Surely you remember, _Decima_? Those espada with the rank of cuarta and higher are forbidden to release under the dome of our fortress. If we were to do so, then Las Noches itself would be completely and utterly destroyed. As shall you."

Blue eyes widened.

"Attack, _Tiburón."_

The small tsunami crashed around her body, enveloping her inside of an opaque sphere of blue. Naruto leapt back from the domed roof of the castle, a small speck of white in this endless desert. His smile faltered a fraction as her spiritual power shot forth like a solid wall, and he readied himself for the attack.

Halibel broke out from the giant ball of water, her lithe body crashing outwards in a massive wave, her massive sword aimed directly for his gut. He was able to spin out of the way, but not without allowing his ribcage to remain wide open. Halibel's tanned leg swung out as she passed him, her armored shin planting itself into his side. With a grunt, the decima flew backwards and into a nearby pillar, his lungs struggling to take in air after the painful attack.

"_Shit_," he coughed out as blood speckled his lips then the sands. "You weren't kidding about doin' some damage in that form."

"Once more you've surprised me," Halibel retorted with subtle malice. "I had not expected you to dodge my sword."

"Sorry to exceed your expectations," he said as he stepped back into a squatting posture. But that hit had taken its toll, and he staggered a bit as his broken ribs shrieked in proteststation to his efforts. "But I can't die."

"You claim to be immortal?" The scowl was no longer subtle. "What a fool you are-

"No, I never said I was immortal." Naruto spat a bloody wad of saliva onto the pristine white sand. "I just said I can't die yet."

"And why is that?"

"Because." He spit, the red light from his hands fading, devouring his zanpaktou whole.

_'Here it comes.'_

His _reiatsu _exploded and materialized into a column of crimson light, causing Halibel to squint her eyes slightly against it. "I have a promise to keep." She readied herself as the energy levels grew; it had been a while since she'd faced an opponent that could actually _force_ her to release her _resurrección. _The last thing she wanted was to be caught off guard.

Still, she had not been prepared for the sight of his _release._

"_El Diablo," _Naruto said with an air of reverence as the massive weapon hung ominously over his now bare shoulders. His skin was dotted with black fire tattoo's, strongly resembling that of Uchiha Sasuke's first cursed form. Gone were his human ears, wait, were those the ears of a _fox_? Around his shoulders, no, _part_ of his shoulders was thick red fur, running down his back to eventually take the form of three fox tails.

He was tall, well built, and bareffooted, having lost most of his attire in the transformation, though his hakama pants still remained largely intact, though tattered around the edges. Slitted pupils and black sclera glared at her, his fangs curving into a sneer as hefted his zanpaktou. The scythe was a deadly weapon, no only because of its versatility, but due to the fact that this make and model was double edged and chained to his wrist, likely leaving him with _near_ limitless potential for offense.

"This is your _release ?" _Halibel asked as she looked at one of the few weapons that actually dwarfed her own. "You certainly are diverse with your weapons."

"You'll find that I'm _quite _different from Nnoitra," Naruto quipped, _"Tia Halibel."_

She wanted to ask him how she knew of her battle with the quinto espada, or how he knew her full name, but she didn't have the time. He'd already launched himself at her with incredible speed, the quickness of his movements surprising her; for such a massive build, he moved as though his gargantuan weapon weighed practically nothing.

Halibel blacked as the giant scythe swung at her, her large white blade shuddering in her hand against the strike. She placed her free hand against the backside of her sword to reinforce the block, but she found herself grimacing as the giant blade began to dig itself into her defense, the white sword splintering slightly under his onslaught. She leapt away and into the air, her feet skidding to a stop along the top of a nearby building.

"You know," Naruto said as he gripped the central pole of his two piece weapon, "I used to have to scream at this lazy bastard up every time I wanted to go _resurrecion; _for some reason he just never wanted to fight."

Halibel looked on with apparent indifference as Naruto reached to the pole and began to spin the scythe as if it were a chainsaw

"But I think," he continued, "that I've found a way to wake Kyuubi's ass up right away."

As he finished his speech, Uzumaki leapt forward to attack with the massive middle blade, the sharpened edge sending the jinchuuriki plummeting down towards his opponent. He'd moved so swiftly that Halibel hadn't even had time to get out of the way; Naruto's attack was headed directly for the female Espada.

His attack stopped in mid air.

"What?!"

Naruto looked onward in shock as _Diablo_ halted in his hands, the tip of Halibel's enormous blade jutting through from the other side and pointing directly at his face. Even now, the blade was beginning to crack in fine lines around the point of penetration, his weapon weakening as his opponent stood stoically on the other side of the black weapon. He looked over the length of his blade to see her turquoise eyes regarding him with scorn, her lips curving in a small snarl as she began to speak.

"_La Gota."_

Naruto barely saw the wave of blue water form along her blade, splitting his entire zanpakuto in half, before the entirety of the attack slammed into his chest.

Everything went black.

**Next time: Hellish Resolution.**


	6. The Tercera, Past, Present, and Future

**Alright, lemme make one thing clear. Naruto is NOT espada zero, and thus disposed of Yammy BEFORE he could release. As mentioned before, he(Naruto) still has _a lot_ of untapped potential at the moment, hence the reason Halibel has been kicking him around so easily. But not for much longer. And _please_ review! I worked really hard on this, and this story is my pride and joy!**

It was too much. He couldn't take it, couldn't hope to prevail against the wall of water that now bore down on him like a riptide. And so, the current tossed his body like a rag doll. Finally, his limp form hit the sands, his release slowly fading back into his slightly cracked katana. He lay there for awhile, unconcious, yet still breathing.

Whether he was out for minutes or hours, he knew not.

**_"Gaki."_**

He hung there in the blackness for a time, before he was aware of a prescence, _its_ prescence. **_"..."_** Before him dangled two red eyes, a sight familair, and yet alien to him. From somewhere deep within, past the darkest reccesses of his mind, a voice called.

_**"Kit. You're dying."**_

_"Huh?"_

**_"Don't 'huh' me, kit."_**

_"Oh."_ A small smile touched his lips, the holding cell finally fading into view around him. _So its you, bastard fox._ Yes, this was the Kyuubi's 'cage' a seal placed upon him by the fourth hokage_,_ and the reason for his inhuman ability to heal. It loomed before him, a giant fox with bright fur and red eyes, the sight of its nine tails a dim blur of movment in the shadow's cage.

_"So whaddya want?"_

**_...We need to talk." _**It replied at last with a mighty yawn that nearly blew the blond clear off his feet, then licking its lips once it had finished. **_"I figured now would be as good a time as any."_**Ambling into view, the beast lurched forward, just as far as the bars would be allowed. It was massive, so large that its paws were pressed against the damp floor, exposing its claws. He half expected those claws to strike at him.

_"Bout what?" _He replied blearily, still convinced this was all a dream. _"My taste in women?"_

**_"No." _**Kyuubi replied sternly, abruptly roaring out at him with enough sudden force to throw its host into the adjoining wall. Ignored were the blonde's cries of protests. **_"Quiet! You had that coming! Now sober up and listen."_**

**_"You're going to die if you fight Halibel. I can give you the power, but-_**

**_--_**

"Apache!" The word burst from his lips the moment he woke.

To find himself soaking wet.

There was something wet and sticky all over his chest. "Ew." He groaned, crinkling his nose at the foul smell. "What is this nasty stuff?" Swiping at the slime with his free hand, intending to wipe away the foul goop that clung to his skin...

But then, much to his surprise, the wounds beneath the ooze began to _heal_. Even now, they closed at an accelerated rate, far faster then his natural healing ability. "Whoa," Within moments he was entirely healed. Although this couldn't make up for the physical fatigue he was feeling, it certainly helped.

"Howz dat?"

"Great-he began-

"Eh?" He frowned at the diminutive figure before him. "Who the hell're you?" He twisted his head to see a child, and to his disgust, the little one sucked the slime back into her mouth.

"Blech!" He made a face at the sight. "What the hell was that?!"

"Spit!" She grinned.

"Yuck!" He furiously patted himself down, but the goop was long since gone. "You spit on me?!"

"Hai!"

She was clearly a female Arrancar, rather unique in appearance. Light green hair with a slight blue tint, a large scar coming down from her forehead to her nose, larger than average incisors, and a crimson line that stretched horizontally across her face right below her eyes.

The remains of her hollow mask made up a cartoonish skull on the top of her head. A crack ran along the left side of the mask and four of the teeth on it were broken off. Her clothing consisted of a simple green gown.

"Nel!" She declared giddily. "I'm Nel!"

_"Nel?"_ He blinked, eyes that narrowed now going wide. He said it again. "Did you say...Nel?"

"Hai!" She chirped again, cheerily, innocently. "Dat's me!" Confusion now reflected in her hazel eyes. "So....whoz are you?"

"Naruto." He replied, pointing to the tattoo ethched into his left shoulder. "Decima espada."

"Nawuto?" She tilted her head to one side, accidentally mispronouncing the 'r' with a slight lisp, then laughing suddenly, as if she found something incredibly funny. "Hahahaha! Dat's a funny name!"

"Oh shut up!" He hissed, shaking his head. "I don't have time for this!"

_'Bah, must be a coincidence. She's Nel,_ not _Neliel. Besides...she looks nothing like her!'_

"Eh?" She whined sadly as he tried to rise, only to be beaten back down by the crushing pain in his chest. Still, she looked at him pleadingly with her wide eyes. "Wha? You don't wanna play wit' me anymore?"

"N-No!" He sputtered guiltily, waving his hands rapidly, and that only intesnified the fire in his chest. "It's just... He remembered her well, the only decent member of the espada, and the one who'd taught him to never unsheathe his sword unless it was for a just cause. And this girl had her eyes, those exact same eyes that had greeted with kindness, not hatred, when first he'd come here.

"It's just that, I _knew_ someone named Neliel." The decima winced as he forced his body back into movement."She was my master before I became an espada."

Espada. The elite of the elite, and Neliel was the _tercera_, and he, along with Pesche and Dondochakka had been her fraccion. Perhaps that was why he hated Halibel so, because she'd taken Neliel's place, taken her rank after she and the other two had vanished without rhyme or reason.

Taking another glance at the child, his glare softened somewhat as he finished explaining himself at last. "Looking at you...Well...you sorta remind me of her, I guess."

Nel now winced, and scratched at her skull cap as if it had an irritating itch.

"Owie."

"Huh?" Naruto blinked, concerned for her, this little one who reminded him of his master. "What's wrong?" He knelt down to her level and she whimpered slightly as the twitching itch became a peristent rash in the back of her mind. "My head, da skull huiwts." She whined, scratching at the remnants of her mask.

"Don't worry, that should only be temporary." Naruto replied gently, placing one hand on her head. All at once, the pain went away, and Nel stared up at him with an awed look upon her little face. "You'll get used to it, I promise."

"So watz an 'spada doing out herez?" She asked now in her lisping tone. "Did youz ge lost or sometin'?"

"Well, actually I'm fighting _someone_." Naruto replied, and sense of where he was, what he was _doing_, slowly beginning to trickle back into his mind."I got blasted over here by her as a matter of- He inhaled sharply as a sharp reaitsu slammed into them. Nel fell to her knees, and he whirled in response to the voice that followed the spiritual pressure.

"You should not have run."

A gust of wind was his only warning.

"Down!" He cried, stepping before her, and there Halibel was, swinging her sword down at him with such force that his knees buckled and his arms nearly gave out. He had been a fool to let his guard down, and now he paid for it dearly, twisting his body to avoid the bala she flung at him.

Poor little Nel, she was tossed to the harded sand like a rag doll.

"You are no match for me." His broken zanpaktou continued to crack, the hairline fractures spreading across the inch or so worth of useless steel he had left. "And you can no longer use your release. So why do you persist?" But the decima held his ground, despite the fact that his _resurreccion_ had long since abandoned him.

"And let you attack a little girl?"

"What?"

"Hey! Why aw you attackin' Nawuto-sama?"

"You?!" Halibel started as she saw to whom he was referring, and in that moment, she struck with triple the usual force. Naruto winced, his arms numb from just that strike. "Nel! Get outta here!" Clapping one hand forward, he shoved a wall of wind laced reaitsu at the ground, kicking up a wall of sand. By the time it had cleared tossing the childlike arrancar was frantically running across the sands, already gone from sight.

Leaving Naruto alone with the enemy, and enemy for whom he was no match. _'Well, whoever she is, at least she's safe.'_ He chuckled bitterly as those cracks in the sword soon became full breaks. _'Oh shit! Not now!'_ Despite his former ferverent pleas for the sword to hold, _Diablo_ chose that exact moment to shatter entirely.

Unimpeded, Tiburon rushed in for the kill, creating a sickening squelch as bone gave way to unyielding steel.

"Nrgh!"

Halibel quickly plunged the tip of her sword into the jinchuuriki's gut, the white blade turning red as it tore through the skin and muscles of Naruto's stomach. The blond gasped slightly, his opponent staring blankly into his eyes.

Eyes that now went wide, unable to comprehend the immensity now huge, gaping hole in his chest. Tiburon had struck straight and true, and much to the Jinchuuriki's dismay, he was impaled. Immediately, he thrashed, trying to free himself of this cold, merciless steel. But it would not bend, nor would it break. This weapon was too strong, too eternally forged, to ever escape.

"Damn..it...he wheezed.

"How pitiful you are." She breathed into his ear. "_Now_ do you see the difference between you and I?" Pressing one hand against his chest, Halibel shoved her sword deeper, deeper, until the tip erupted from his chest in an explosion of gore. Blood spilled from Uzumaki's lips, and slowly, the life in his eyes began to fade.

"It's power."

--

**(Las Noches. Music: Never meant to belong)**

_'No...._

Apache couldn't believe it.

She appeared before everyone in a flourish of sonido. "Behold." They had long since gathered at the roof, hoping to see any signs of the ensuing clash that had taken out a third of the dome from Las Noches.

Muffled gasps rose from the arrancar, espada and fraccion alike as they beheld the sight. Aizen and company remained eerily silent, their expressions unreadable, with the exception of Ichimaru's ever present grin.

"Fool." Spit Aaroniero.

Starrk paused to incline his head, a silent mourning for the loss of a comrade. Thankfully Haku was not here to see this, having been sent on a reconnaissance mission to the world of the living.

"Hmph." Barragan snorted, crossing his arms. "Was that all?"

"Damn." Grimmjow winced at the sight, and couldn't help but feel a tiny bit of remorse for the fate of the decima. Nnoitra whistled not at the loss of a comrade, but rather, grinning toothily at the sight of a near naked Halibel.

"How vulgar." Szayel remarked with a shake of his head, though he was secretly dissapointed that he wouldn't be able to conduct research on either of them now, what with Naruto's body little more than a bloody husk, and Halibel wearing the complacent look of a shark that had just devoured its latest victim.

Zommari and Ulquiorra of course, remained silent.

Finally, the silence was broken.

"NO!"

With a dull thud, his body fell to the ground. The pallid sands greedily sucked in his blood, heedless of Apache's horrified shriek, nor of the decima's labored last breath's. Like death itself, Halibel loomed over him, the shadow of her sword, raised high for the final blow, blotting out the moonlight."Let this be a lesson to you, fool. You will find no peace in this death."

He didn't respond. He could feel it, his body, slowly shutting down, despite the Kyuubi's best efforts to restore him. He tried to gather himself, perhaps for one last attack, or one final insult, but no sound, no movement came. All that followed was blood, vomitted from his ruptured lung.

"Naruto!" Apache tried to run towars him, but found herself not been held back by Sun-Sun and Mila-Rose. Had they not been there, she would have gone after her, this woman who'd struck down her lover. "Oh god no! _No!_ Get up! Naruto! NARUTO!"

"Stop it, Apache!" Mila Rose snarled at her as her fellow fraccion renewed her efforts. "You'll be killed!" Sun-Sun's normally quiet voice tripled in volume as her hands came free from her long sleeves in an effort to get a better grip on their distraught friend. Still Apache thrashed and struggled against her friends, ignoring the fact that she would most certainly join him in death, if she were to interfere.

"Silence, Apache." Halibel scowled, directing a glimmer of her reaitsu at the three. "Your pleas will not save him." Halibel turned to direct a scowl at her subbordinate, but her _subordinate _had something to say. "Sh-Shaddap You-You BITCH!"Now, the tercera was met with such an intense glare, that even _she_ was momentarily at a loss for words.

"I said silence." Mila-Rose, Sun-Sun, _and _Apache felt the full force of her reaitsu as the brunt of it fell upon their shoulders. As one they fell, gasping and panting for breath.

But Apache's words had not been wasted.

_His_ conciousness was there. Faint, but definitely there. Slowly, it began to stir, rising from the murky depths of darkness that threatened to consume it, swallow it whole. With a slight twitch, he stirred.

_Wha?_

_Am I dead?_

_No...I can't be dead?_

"Naruto!"

_Apache?_

"Naruto!"

_I can hear her..._

"NARUTO!"

_Get up._

"Please!"

_Get up damnit!_

A tear rolled down his cheek.

_I...__I will protect her._

--

**(Music Quincy's craft)**

"!!"

A hand lashed out to catch Tiburon.

Then it happened.

From the blackest depths of hell, the blaring roar of reaitsu came, consuming the corpse. Slowly, Naruto's body began to patch itself, forming clean white marks over each wound, then dissapearing into the flesh. A blazing fox skull growled above his prone form, laughing silently as if it were alive. Red light gathered from the seal at its chest, and within moments, the jinchuuriki cloak was in full effect.

"RishinJusakon-Dan." (**Divine Soul Reversal)**. Aizen's face wore a sly, almost sinister smile as the deformed carcass took on human shape. "Its a forbidden kido, that brings back the user's soul." Indeed, within moments, the espada was back on his feet, standing as if nothing had happened, as if he had merely been asleep. "As you can see, it's quite potent."

Halibel stared in gobsmacked fascination as the two seperate halves sewed themselves into a complete whole, leaving complete and flawless skin where before there had been little more than ragged flesh. Inconceivable. He'd been split in _two. _How could he get back up from that?

"Naruto?"

Apache could only blink as she beheld her lover, with two, no three tails of jinchuuriki chakra taking shape, and already, the fourth tail was coming out, his skin beginning to peel as his body underwent a most potent transformation.

A wordless scream ripped past his mouth, then his body exploded, and once more, the monstrosity ambled into view. It had the ears of a fox in place of normal human ears, and from its back flowed nine tails, similair to that of the nine tailed fox. It, the creature, was barechested, but now its hollow hole could be seen, dead center in its chest where she'd ripped out his heart.

He had a mask, resembling more of a human skull, complete with a jaw joint and rounded forehead. From the back of the mask, four spike-shaped marks stretched, two of them stopping by the forehead, and the other two stretching past the eyes and teeth, going past his chin and joining with the marks on his chest. There were also small marks resembling a heart, but with the top and bottom open, extending from the inner corners of his eyes.

But the mask's most prominent features were two long forward-pointing horns with black strips extending from their center towards the tips.

Naruto extended a hand, and a red energy version of his scythe flew to him, shearing up the sand as it went. With an audible pop, it landed back in his palm, a concussion force that shattered the nearby pillar into a thousands fragments. Jamming the sparking pole into the sands, what was left of the debris dissolved.

The beast huffed once, apparently satisfied, then turned its attention to Apache. She blinked in surprise as it lumbered towards her, then dissapeared with the punch of sonido, scooped her up, and reappeared upon the roof.

All in an eyeblink.

**"I...will protect." **It rumbled, setting her down, staring at her intently. **"I...will protect you."** Apache could only nod and stare up at the behemoth that gently touched her cheek with a clawed hand. Though he hadn't gotten any taller, this thing radiated power, power that now hissed and spit at the air around them.

Halibel finally found her voice. "Impossible...you were dead." The moment lost, the beast shook itself, tossing its mane wildly, its roar deafening to all those present. "Who are what are you?" It noticed her then, and slowly raised its gaze to meet her own.

_**"OOOOOOOOH!"**_

**_(Music change: Invasion)_**

"I see." The water swirled from her blade. "Yes, its just as I thought. You've become little more than a mindlesss beast." The current circled the steel, then at her command, lunged, hoping to drown the mibster before it could move.

"La Gota."

It seemed vaguely aware of the incoming attack, but still, made no effort to dodge. No, it stood firm in the wake of her technique, for the terrible current had not struck home. No, the creature emerged from the steam, dripping wet, but entirely unharmed.

Teal eyes narrowed as yellow light gathered from the tip of Tiburon. But this was no normal cero, for as the saffron poured into her blade, it took on a blinding white brilliance

"Cero Clario."

It snorted, as if in contempt, then raised its fingers in a trio pointed edge. Azure light flickered at is fingertips, coallescing into the distinctive, fluctuating soccerball sized sphere that was a cero.

Halibel fired seconds later.

It howled at her, and a tug of war ensued. Blue, yellow, The two pinpoints of light crashed against one another, creating green as the reaitsu surged and buckled under their feet.

Whatever this new strength was, it was too much for her cero to handle. With a dull thump azul overpowered amarillo and the fire rushed forward to consume her. The creature tilted its head as if in confusion as she was lost from sight.

With a punching sound, she was suddenly behind him, her massive sword raised vertical above her head. Naruto twitched as Tiburon carved a thick gash from his right shoulder to his back, but no sooner had the steel left his chalky white flesh then it did heal, flawlessly.

Halibel hissed in surprise.

"Regeneration?!"

With a shriek, he rounded on her.

Halibel had no choice now but to take the attack, the powerful scythe opening a slice down her belly. The gash ran down along her flat stomach, the centermost of the row of white denticles now missing. Her _hierro _proved strong enough to render the wound non-fatal, but her blood still stained the ground beneath her feet as she continued her leap backwards.

"Impossible." Halibel hissed, touching a gloved finger to the blood that was now trickling down her stomach. "How could you have cut me?" Naruto's response was to click his tongue, stamp a foot and raise his reiatsu. Red light exploded from the seal, and he leapt at her once more.

"I see," Halibel said slowly, her spiritual pressure rising to match his. "_Cascada."_

A massive wall of water suddenly crashed through the back wall of the innermost pillar, causing Naruto to take his attention off of Halibel and _sonido _out of the way of her tsunami-like attack. As he appeared again, he found the tercera directly across from him, her sword pointed at his chest as she trapped him between the wall of water and her deadly weapon. Water began to swell along the edges of her zanpakuto and a small smirk crossed her face.

_"La Gota."_

The aquatic bullet launched forth, its piecing tip aimed directly for Naruto's head. The beast raised a hand and the blast turned to steam against his red hot scythe, the mist vanishing back into the blade.

Halibel vanished suddenly, her body vanishing in a buzz of white and brown and blonde. She swiftly appeared behind her espada opponent and fired off a twin pair of _Gota, _the two missiles screaming through the air towards the decima's turned back.

The creature raised its free hand, and performed the same feat. Scowling, Halibel retreated again, but now, the air was laden with heat, a thick dry sky that was deprived of any and all humidity.

She soon found the answer as he stabbed the scythe into the ground and a wall of flames rushed at her.

_Fire._

Indeed, the inferno stemmed from his scythe. They wreathed across his skin as if they were alive, crawling over his chalky white flesh like unearthly vines. He roared a challenge and flung the vine like flames at her, cutting through another La Gota as if it were dust.

Her water was useless.

With a buzzing shock, Halibel was directly in front of Naruto, her massive blade crashing into the scythe. He swung with the same lethargic force that seemed to move his hand a moment ago. But it was enough to spur his weapon forward, causing the female Arrancar to repel back forcefully. A dull punch of sonido reached her ears too late. He was already there, behind her carving into her back as if her skin were made of paper, not impenetrable steel.

Blood spurted from the space between her shoulder blades. Refusing to give him the satisfaction of crying out, she whirled on him. But again he seized her, this time by the throat, and by the sword.

With a dull crunch, he ripped the massive zanpaktou from her, taking her hand with it. He wasted no time in devouring the limb, leaving her sword behind.

**_"OOOOOOOOOOH!" _**A deafening roar bled into her ears, leaving her dazed both by the destruction of her zanpaktou, The loss of her arm, and the degree to which she'd been overwhelmed. Discarding the scythe, he used his new power to leap upon her, forcing her down into a stradling position. Halibel shrieked as she kicked at him, but with a snarl, he forced her down, planrinf his foot firmly upon her skull. The scythe was now brought to her throat, and with a slight twitch, drew thin rivulets of blood. He meant to kill her, she realized as the blade pulled upward.

"Well done. Well done Naruto-kun." The sound of clapping drew his attention, and stayed the hand of death. Naruto twisted his head up to the dome to see Aizen walking across the dome towards them, with a strange metal pole in hand.

Everyone seemed to have froze, with the exception of himself.

He hissed and bared his teeth in warning.

"Now now." Sosuke shook his head, as if he were talking to a disobedient child. "There is no need to kill a fellow espada, is there?"Naruto huffed angrily and stamped on her back, the gesture expressing all.

"Ah, I see you're angry." Aizen nodded as if he understood. "But why kill her? Wouldn't that be too _easy_?"

**_"Uh?" _**The beast tilted its head, but made no motion to finish the blond. Sosuke smiled calmly in the face of this demonic power, seemingly unaffected by the reaitsu that threatened to strangle him. "Yes, wouldn't you rather take all she holds dear?"

**_"Nrgh?!" _**The beast hissed in surprise as the brand was pressed to his shoulder, leaving the mark of three in its place where the ten had once been. **_"Wh-Wh_**at?" Surprised, Naruto felt at the still warm tattoo, his mask beginning to crack as his sanity slowly trickled back.

The mask shattered, and his sealed zanpaktou dropped into his right hand. He still stared at the smoking symbol emblazoned upon his flesh, a constant reminder of what had just happened.

"Welcome, new tercera." Sosuke replied as if that answered all, and just like that, time marched onward.

Naruto knew the rank did not matter to him, but still, he grinned feeling the pride swelling up in his chest. There she was, at his feet, unable to resist him. Halibel. Weak, helpless, the one he so utterly despised and loathed for taking Neliel-sama's position.

And so he just had to gloat.

"You want to kill me now, don't you?" He approached so suddenly, that she froze. "I can see it in your eyes." He continued, coming to a stop before her, tapping her on the forehead with a finger, "You can barely restrain yourself, even now."

It was true, every word, and they both knew it.

He eyed her broken, useless weapon, lying some ways to the side, just within her grasp. He kicked it towards her. "C'mon then." With a nudge of his foot, he kicked the zanpaktou towards her. "_Try_ to kill me."

Rage flooding her veins, Halibel made herself rise-

But no sooner had her fingers curled around the hilt of her weapon, then it was over. In the blink of an eye, he'd stepped forward, drawn the sword, and now, _he_ had her pinned to the floor, the tip of the restored _Diablo _pressed to her throat.

"Hey, do you know _difference_ between you and I?" Naruto felt his lips curve up into a sneer as he stood over her, laughing when she scowled up at him. How ironic, that now _he_ was the one with all the power, whereas mere moments before he had been her punching bag. "Do you _know_ what _seperates_ the two of us, _Tia Halibel?"_

He took great pleasure in spitting the words back at her face.

_"Power. You're weaker than me."_

With a sharp kick to her ribs, he turned with Aizen, leaving her to lick her wounds. He was satisfied now. Elated that he had, in a way, avenged Neliel, thrown Halibel out of the espada, pleased that he'd shown his power to everyone, and _amazed_ that even Aizen was still deceived by his cleaver ruse.

He laughed, even as Halibel struggled to stand under her own power, only to fail miserably.

"Ja ne, _former_ three."

With a buzz of sonido, he appeared on the dome. There, as the other espada returned to Las Noches, he was summarily glommed by a tearful Apache, whom immediately drew him into a fierce, passionate kiss.

"Hey hey," He laughed, breaking apart for a moment, just so he could _breathe_. "Take it easy! I'm not going anywhere!"

"Your room." She replied huskily, so relieved to have him back, and in one piece, that she wanted to have him here and now, before they were interrupted a third time. _"Now." _She made it abundantly clear that she wasn't going to take no for an answer.

With a silent blur of motion, they too vanished, their destination quite obvious.

Oh yes, Uzumaki Naruto was _very_ satisfied.

**_Next time: Another Fraccion, and Intel. Sosuke Aizen makes his move!_**


	7. A Demon, a Gunslinger, and a Vision

And so he became the tercera. Halibel, though still alive, was removed from the espada her tattoo ripped and torn away from her. Though he knew he possesed the rank of tres, still Naruto was doubtful.

He'd won only because of his mysterious second transformation, and without it, he was weak.

"Yo."

He frowned as a grinning Nnoitra blocked his way. "That was pretty good work out there yesterday." Restraining the boiling firestorm in his stomach, the jinchuuriki pushed past the lecherous espada. He didn't have any quarrel with the quinto espada, but that didn't mean that Nnoitra didn't have a bone to pick with _him_. "Yeah, you sure showed that bitch who's boss."

Naruto stiffened slightly, but lengthened his stride and increased his pace, footfalls filling the echoing corridor. "Be quiet. I did it for the right reasons, not for revenge." Of course it was only natural, that this was a sore subject for him. After all, he'd gone from dead last to elite only yesterday.

Yet a sense of guilt still plagued him. This was _Neliel's_ spot, and he felt as if he were just saving it for her. But if she had meant to return, then surely she'd have done so by now. It'd been _three years_ since her dissapearance, and still, he had no idea why she just up and vanished.

_'Why...Why did you leave...?'_

--

The next day, he found someone...odd waiting for him in his room. She had short silver hair and keen blue eyes, and glared at him the moment he entered, reaching for what looked like a weapon at her hip.

"What're you doing in _my_ room?"

"_Your_ room?" Naruto frowned at her. "Sorry squirt, but this is my place."

"You?!" She laughed. "Sorry pal, no fuckin way! I serve no one!"

"Oh?" He chortled, amused by her attitude. "Well you won't get far with-

There was a rush of air past his face , and a small slit appeared on his cheek. The girl held some sort of weapon in her hand, and its barrel was smoking, steam rising from the base.

"New fraccion, huh?" The tercera hissed, eyes narrowing to slits. "I think you need to learn your place."

Her response was to level the weapon at him again. But now he stepped aside as the projectile shot past, and with a spin of his heel, he sharply clipped her temple, drawing a thin line of blood down her head.

Surprisingly, the silver haired girl did not pass out. Instead, she gnashed her teeth and kicked at his groin, but again he retreated at the last moment. Blood spurted from another wound, this one at her shoulder. She shrieked in frustration, but with a flick of his hand, he had her pinned to a wall, her jacket shirt filled with kunai, pinning her to the wall.

"There." The tercera clapped his hands, patting them off of imaginary dust. "Now, lets see, what the hell is this?" Curious, he picked up the strangely shapped weapon. "Hmm, looks like it has some sort of trigger...

"Gimme back that gun back! It's mine!"

"Gun?" Naruto blinked. "Never heard of it. What's it do?"

"It shoots things!" Again the jinchuuriki was confused.

"Your name's Hiemko, right kid?"

"No it's not." The girl snarled. "It's _Kuro-hime_ damnit! I only look like this because-

"Huh." Naruto interrupted sighed, and with a wave of his hand, the kunai fell harmlessly to the ground. "Well, whoever you are, and whatever your story is, Kurohime, _that's_ too long a name for me to remember, so," She gave him a confused stare in return, and in reply, he tossed the 'gun' back to her. She caught it with fumbling hands, then jammed it back into her holster.

"How 'bout I just call you Hime?"

Himeko turned beet red.

"F-Fine sure whatever!" Without another word she bolted out the door, nearly running over Apache, who had just been on her way in. "Oh, and screw you, blondie!" Apache exchanged a glance with Naruto who shrugged.

"Look's like we picked up another wierd one." She sighed.

"Yeah." Naruto rubbed the side of his cheek with a small wince, but felt a small smile creep up his face as his lover cirvled an arm about his waist, with an obvious intent. "And feisty to boot."

"Feisty, eh?" She grinned, pulling him forward....

"Then how about this...?"

--

_You are to follow Grimmjow and ensure that Hitsugaya's advance team survives._

These were his orders, after warning Soul Society of an impending attack.

"Jeez." Naruto rubbed the side of his neck. "What a pain."

As the garaganta opened, black smoke filled his lungs. The scene before him was a warzone. It was evening, yet the fires lit the sky as if it were day. Explosions sounded in the distance, evidence to the multiple battles still taking place. Casting out his Pesqia, Naruto could sense at least five or more shinigami fighting, and with wanton abandon, judging by the ruined, rubble of buildings that lay about.

So this was Karakura town.

The punch of a nearby sonido drew his attention. There, someone dressed in black was fighting a soul reaper. The blue hair gave the arrancar away. "Grimmjow." It made sense that he wasn't satisfied with Ulquiorra's initial observation. Frustration boiled within Naruto as the sexta tossed the boy about like a ragdoll. He wanted to help him, truly he did, but if he were to do, surely Aizen would know.

Ichigo hit the pavement facefirst, kicking up a cloud of dust, but got right back up. Grimmjow shot after him, mercilessly kicking the would be substitute across the streets and into a guard rail. With an unbreakable stride, he advanced, seizing the ryoka by the collar, slugged him around a bit, then threw him into the air.

As Ichigo spiraled upward, he locked eyes with Naruto for a moment. Then Grimmjow was above him, kicking the shinigami down, into the streets below. The road shattered upon impact, spraying smoke and debris in all directions. Grimmjow spat down at him, demanding that his _prey_ get back up and not dissapoint him. In response, the smoke suddenly cleared, and a sinister reaitsu rose from the rubble.

There, the soul reaper staggered to his feet, whipped his blade around and unleashed a horrifying killer intent.

"Getsuga...

Grimmjow seemed to sense the danger, and threw his arms up at the last second, just a moment before the wave of black reaitsu slammed into him.

....Tenshou."

Lost from sight for a moment, one might have assumed Grimmjow would certainly perish in the flames. But no, Naruto knew better. For the sexta espada emerged from the inferno relatively unscathed, uncrossed his arms and laughed with glee. "The hell was that? Ulquiorra didn't mention _that one_, soul reaper." There was a shallow wound at his chest and burn marks at his wrist, but an injury like that wouldn't even slow Grimmjow down.

"Am I still dissapointing you, arrancar?" Ichigo shouted up at him, and the azure espada cackled.

"Bring it, shinigami! There's a reason for me to kill you know!"

Still, Ichigo smirked.

Naruto simply could not understand it, the ryoka's sentiments of confidence. _'What's he thinking? He'll need at least ten more of those if he plans to put an dent in Grimmjow. And from the look of it, he can manage only about two or three more of them..._

Just then, Ichigo staggered and clutched at his face, covering one eye. His reaitsu began to fluctuate wildly, and after waiting for a moment, Grimmjow announced it was 'his turn' and moved to draw his sword.

The dull hum of another garaganta appeared, and Tousen stepped out of the air beside Naruto. The two exchanged a glance, but then the tercera shrugged and stepped back into the whirling abyss, wanting no part of the duo's bickering that was sure to come.

--

There were a few more skirmishes preceding that, but Naruto wisely chose to stay out of them. Instead, he quietly funneled information, the layout of Las Noches, the strength of the espada and what little he knew of rankings, and of Aizen's plan.

He didn't have the time to return to Konoha, but would occasionally replenish his clone with chakra, just to make sure it was still there. It had been a full month now, and as he stared at the eternal sunlight, or sometimes the everlasting moon, the pangs of loneliness steadily became worse, for he sorely missed his friends.

And still, Aizen did not make his move.

--

"Naruto-sama, I want in."

"What?" He turned his attention to his newest fraccion a dark haired, violet eyed girl by the name of Asura. Unlike Himeko and Apache, he was decidely neutral on this one, for she until now, she didn't really seem to care about his schemes.

For good reason of course.

You see, Asura was like him in a way.

A demon.

Literally.

"Your plan to defeat Aizen." She elaborated coldly stepping forward, the long tresses of her hair swishing several inches or so just behind her knees. Unlike most of the arrancar, she was unique, if not in personality and power, than certainly in Appearance. Long dark hair that frame her face, black boots, black fingerless gloves that ran up to just below her shoulders, and a white sleevless strapless shirt that was wrapped tightly around her curvaceous frame, held in place by a plaited black belt.

Not to mention the aformentioned lack of pants.

"And why should I?" He turned away, but she spoke once more. Now, she kicked the door shut behind her, so as to stifle the occasional buzz of conversation stemming from the hallways.

"I can show you something."

"I've seen many things." Naruto resisted the urge to glance her over. "Ecchi." She scowled, pulling her shirt down further to hide her delicates. "I mean a _vision_." Her intense eyes narrowed slightly. "Of that which you desire most."

"Hah." He laughed, but still, he did not walk away. "And what is it that I desire most, eh?" He was answere when she seized his shoulders, spinning him to face her. Sapphire met violet, and everything went wide.

--

"Scared?"

"No. I'd rather not fight you, that's all."

"Nah, ya must be scared." Nnoitra pressed, following after him. "Else ya wouldn't be running scared like that bitch ass master of yours did!" A sense of dread, mingled with spite, filled him, strangled his reason. Against his will, Naruto felt his body turn, until he glared up at the lanky fifth. "What...did you...say?"

"You heard me." Nnoitra smirked. "Yer scared, just like Neliel was."

"What?" Naruto saw red, felt it creeping across his vision.

He couldn't beat Nnoitra, not like this. That victory, he'd pulled that transformation out his ass, and unfortunately, he didn't know how to make it happen again. It would seem that everyone knew that now. It would've be only a matter of time before someone tried to usurp his position anyway, butnow, that time had come all too soon.

Still, he felt duty bound to defend his rank, if not for his sake, then for the only one who'd ever shown him kindness. He couldn't say that he had _feelings_ for the former espada, but neither could he say that he didn't care about here either.

It was all he could do to control himself, to keep his body from leaping at Nnoitra. Calm down, he had to _calm down_. If he lost control of himself here, then he'd be killed, and if he was killed, then his death would surely be a meaningless one."If you know something, then say it."

"I killed her." Nnoitra spit venomously, malicously. "I killed her and damn, it felt _good_."

The words cut deep, deeper than any zanpaktou could. A fire burst into his throat and choked him, strangling his resolve not to fight, not to get involved. Against his will, he could feel the change beginning.

"You....SONOVA BITCH!"

Then the vision ended, leaving him gasping on his hands and knees, retching for air. There was a cold emptiness inside of him now, a void that stretched on forever, just like his hollow hole.

"Satisfied?" He looked up to Asura standing over him. "Or do you require further proof of my abilities?"

"You're cruel. I didn't want to see _that."_

He vomitted then.

**(Note: Asura AND Himeko are from the manga Kurohime. I do not own them!) Next time: A haunted past, a conflicted future. Naruto's early days as an arrancar!**


	8. Hate

"I told you retard, you can't cut me!" For the fifteenth time, Nnoitra Jiruga batted Naruto away as if he were little more than a rag doll.

Blood spilled from his mouth, but he paid it no heed.

_"I..._

By now, the beating of his heart was a drum in his ears. So loud it was, that Nnoitra's words were lost on him. It was a terrible sound drowning everything else out in its terrible pounding roar...

_"I...can't..._

His fingertips clawed at the sand, digging at the grains again and again. As he pulled at the hardened terrain, his fingernails created miniature skid marks; until more gravel slid down to cover them. A low rumble worked its way up from his chest.

Gradually…

The muted silence changed.

It turned to laughter; he felt the darkness within resonate in his very soul.

It was soft at first, but this mirth was _anything_ but pleasant..

Dark watery distorted mirth mixed with the his own genuinely _cruel _laugh.

_"I can't lose!! I...have to kill him!"_

His eyes snapped open, the irises were still that sick yellow, yet the white sclera had been replaced with black. It was if he was an entirely different person when he spoke, for the air rumbled with power.

**_"'It'd suck if my mask broke? Don't make me laugh!'_**

The air around him shimmered with sinister power and try as he might; the espada could _not _force his zanpaktou down further, not even the slightest centimeter, though his muscles strained and bulged, he was unable to do so.

You could tell it by the contorted look he wore.

"What the-damnit, just _die_!"

**_"It'd suck..._** Continued Naruto, lashing out in a kick to Nnoitra's gut, the motion catapulting him yards across the sands. As the fifth ground to a halt, he watched as a cackling fox skull, born from red energy, flowed into existence above Naruto.

**_"If you didn't dodge this!"_**

Springing forward, the blond bulleted towards the surprised espada, effortlessly swaying under the first, over the second, blocking the third strike, and advancing forward, even when the fourth got him in the gut.

He was now face to face with Nnoitra.

His teeth parted, lips pulling back so far that he felt them split. Bearing his teeth and half an inch of his pink gums gave more weight to his bold declaration of a moment ago. His whole body grew taut as one muscle, arms out, fingers locked into rigid claws, which now clacked together like the gnashing of teeth, emitting an ear shattering screech as he raked them across Nnoitra's Hierro.

But then gone again he was, now behind Nnoitra.

**_"Dissapear!"_**

"Shaddap!"

He opened his mouth, anxious to finally see some more blood. A golden glow began to emanate from the tip of his tongue, but Naruto just remained where he was, even as the ground began to shake.

"EAT IT!" Howled Nnoitra!

The espada held his ground, refusing to move a muscle, even as his form was basked in the pallid glow. Finally, just as it was about to consume him, he started his counter. He drew in a breath now, let the oxygen expand and rush up to his lungs, buoyed by the intense spiritual energy...

Returned fire.

He made a horrific noise just then. His mouth still open wide, the back of his throat cinched tightly closed. A breath, forcing its way out, with a long and shuddering hiss. It was a eerie mix of nails raking across a chalk board, and the death rattle of a dying animal-

_And it was powerful._

"OOOOOOH!"

The wall of the sound slammed into the cero, rebounding the saffron light back from whence it came. Eye going wide, Nnoitra narrowly escaped incineration at the hands of his own attack, rolling away just in time. Yet he did not escape without some loss, losing the spoon collar of his hood in the process.

Another scream came his way, and that was just a precursor to blur that slammed into his back. Scowling, he swung two of his four scythes around, but Naruto caught just those two on his forearm, and raked Endria across Nnoitra's chest, flaying sparks this way and that as zanpaktou met hierro.

He repeated the same action with his right arm, when Nnoitra brought around his remaining weapons. Producing the same result, and refusing to give Nnoitra a chance to use his other arms, Naruto seized him by the face, whispering into his ear:

"I'll show you, _my_ power...

The noise coiled into the air, coiling around Nnoitra's shuddering frame like snake. Ths hiss still lingered in the air like the echoes of a long awaited shout, still reverberating in his ears. But by then, he'd been slammed into the ground, and brutally kicked through a pillar.

Six tails of jinchuuriki chakra thrashing behind him, he drew back slightly, as if he were a spring, and coiling his body, to prepare himself for a mighty leap. In preparation for this imminent attack, Nnoitra slowly began to spin the two scythes on his lower arms, faster, then faster, creating a rotary shield capable of shearing through flesh and bone as if it were butter.

For a moment neither moved from that position.

"NARUTO!" Neliel all but screamed! "PLEASE DON'T DIE!

Eyes narrowing to slits, Naruto laughed, baring his fangs.

A bead of sweat dripped from Nnoitra's brow, hung on his chin for a moment, as if deciding whether to fall or remain where it lay. Tension was thick throughout the air, as the two stared down their enemy.

The drop of sweat fell.

**(Music breakthrough even/hollowed)**

And it began!

Nnoitra looked on in surprise as the tercera leapt at him. The stupidity of his opponent surprised him, and for a second, he was unable to react from sheer shock.

It was suicide, just charging in like that! That was the worst possible thing to do!

"Dumbass!" He cackled, getting ahold of himself, simultaneously bringing in all of his arms from every possible angle, intent on slicing the shinigami into bite size pieces! Faster than the wind itself, they descended upon him! "Guess you wanna die again!"

However, before the quartet of scythes could shred him to bits, the blond smirked, and jumped _back_ with a burst of sonido. With a curse, Nnoitra realized he'd been baited , but even so, with the amount of _oomph_ he'd put into what was supposed to be a killing blow, he was unable to fully stop his swings, and in trying doing so, momentarily tangled Santa Teresa up in itself.

The crescent edges tangled up in each other, with two sticking in the sand, and the other four each stuck in the groove of its twin. Sparks flew as they ground against each other, clearly not meant for this purpose or position.

_'Gotcha.'_

Naruto sprang forward in that moment, landing on the poles of the foremost left and right scythe. Flexing his hands, he put enough reiatsu into his next swing, capable of shattering a mountain. In less than a second, they were positioned upon his wrists, yet still pointing down at a very surprised Nnoitra.

"Eat it!"

Steel dug deep into the flesh of his right collarbone, tearing sinew and muscle assunder, one of the few critical hits of that fight. Blood sprayed forth like a crimson fountain, and Naruto sneered evilly as he prepared the followup blow. "Not so tough without your weapons, _eh?!"_ The blades slid back, and it was with his claws that he now gripped tight the wound with his left hand, steadying himself-

However, before he could rip him a new one, Nnoitra spat a cero at him, [pint blank. He'd expected the attack to come so suddenly that it forced the soul reaper to either jump away, or take it head on-

The _last thing_ he'd expected Naruto to do was fire his own cero point blank! Again, red met yellow, cancelling the other out in a flash of orange. Yet through the cloud of smoke, Naruto was now nowhere to be seen.

He'd dissapeared.

Consternation showed through on Nnoitra's face as he sought to free his zanpaktou, knowing that for every second he wasted, it was another instant in which he was wide open.

_'Kuso kuso kuso!_

This was the opportunity Naruto had been waiting for.

A static blue suddenly kicked out from behind, heaving Nnoitra into the air, and out of the smokescreen. Naruto shot past, barely visible to the naked eye, let alone Nnoitra. His leap carried him above Nnoitra and his impressive weaponry, and then sent him spiraling into the air. It was clear what he was about to do, but Nnoitra hadn't quite caught on yet, not until the hand thrust itself into his face.

"Gran rey cero." Naruto snarled, and the desert exploded into azure fire.


End file.
